


Pretty Little Liars:  An Ending that Should Have

by SummerSetHaley



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Multi, New Endgame, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-13 02:20:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11750043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerSetHaley/pseuds/SummerSetHaley
Summary: This fic takes place after the Pretty Little Liars 7x20 finale. It is 3 months after Mona takes Mary and Alex Drake, Aria's wedding, and the liars' happy ending. Essentially, the fic is a continuation of the series based upon my own dissatisfaction with the endings as well as the A reveals. No, I am not against the characters of Cece and Alex Drake. Yes, I also miss the show. I hope you will give this a shot and I hope you enjoy it!





	1. Here We Go Again

 

_Three Months Later_

_France_

Mona twirled her hair as she watched her mysterious French lover walk out into the night. He still didn't understand her need for privacy or her obsession that lay beneath the floorboards of her tiny doll shop. But he was just a toy to her, a fling of the country of love, a boy that did not mind getting a little dirty for her.

Mona sighed heavily, but then felt a giddy excitement as she headed to the bunker beneath to play with her dolls. Even after months, she was not tired of playing with them. She could not shake the satisfaction of the perfect revenge—turning the puppet masters into puppets, winning the game, and being the one to give the girls their happily ever after. The only dissatisfaction in her life was the lingering what if she left behind in Rosewood. It was that the man who just left was not—her heart nearly cracked as she thought of his name— _Mike_.

But Mike was gone, and Rosewood was finally behind her. Never again would she feel unsafe or unwanted. She was in control now, and she never had to go back to that dangerous and judgmental place. And that… that was worth it to her. With a smile on her face, she opened the basement bunker to her favorite safe space, and was ready to give her dolls a witty hello, but instead she was greeted with shocking fear and despair.

The bunker room was empty. Her dolls were not only missing, but the display glass was shattered. Her surveillance must have been hacked, for the alarms did not ring. But that was not the most worrisome part. No, what glared at Mona in thick red letters above the shattered glass was a message:

_They are my dolls, bitch, and they always have been. –A_

Which dolls did the message refer to? The girls? Mary and Alex Drake? Upon closer inspection, Mona noticed that the glass was smashed inward with a blunt object strong enough to break the bullet proof surface, and the doors opened from outward. Someone found them and took them. They did not escape on their own.

But who? Who keeps stealing the game from her?

* * *

 

_Rosewood, a week after Mona's discovery_

Spencer was writing diligently at her desk in Hastings & Hastings when her mother walked by with a coffee and a stack of files a mile long. She smiled at Veronica Hastings sincerely, loving spending each day working with her adopted mother. And Veronica especially needed Spencer now, having divorced her father and with Melissa still living exclusively overseas. Although her sister was finally coming home again to visit after her abrupt leave following Aria's wedding three months prior. The family bond was as strong as ever between Spencer, Veronica, and Melissa. Their relationships with Peter Hastings were still somewhat rocky, but Spencer knew that she could not ice out her father forever.

It was precisely these reasons that Spencer never brought up her surprise twin sister, the one that Mary Drake kept secret and sold to get out of Radley. She did not want to risk splitting up her family even more. Day by day, she continued to live as if there was not another her out in the world, somewhere. Yet, she always felt a twinge of guilt when she allowed herself to think of Alex—despite all that she had done. Now that her life was no longer in danger, Spencer had given much of Alex's actions thought and she did not necessarily blame Alex for everything she did. She could not imagine how alone she must have felt or how envious she must have been.

But all was said and done, and Spencer was not going to complain about the newfound peace in her life. Somewhere, deep down, she knew it was strange that Mona called 911 and there was no follow-up investigation, but Spencer knew better than to ask questions, especially since past Spencer found nothing but trouble and pain when she asked too many questions. It was time to lay down her Nancy Drew persona and to finally be happy.

And with Alison and Emily's wedding coming up and Aria returning from her rather long honeymoon, Spencer had a big, busy, and happy schedule to uphold.

* * *

 

The school bell was a sound of relief for Alison. Normally, Alison loved her job, but since the high school mean girl, Addison Derringer, had gone missing, the hallways were nothing but whispers and gossip around her. Most students theorized that Alison had gotten rid of Addison because of their classroom feuds before the teenager went missing. Alison shrugged those off just as she did any other comment about her and her past, but she could not shake the déjà vu feeling that sank her stomach each time someone mentioned the missing girl. It didn't help that she had been asked to Rosewood Police Department for routine interviews following the missing person report, but Mrs. Hastings and Spencer were confident the police wouldn't find any connections between Alison and Addison, especially because of Addison's poor relations with most of the Rosewood High faculty.

Still, most school days were longer than Alison remembered them back when she was a student. She closed her bags and gathered her things, a small bubble of excitement building in her chest as she headed out to meet Emily in the parking lot. They were going to pick up their girls from day care and take them for a wedding cake taste tester. So long as the twins got along, of course.

* * *

 

_Home sweet Rosewood_ , Aria thought as she stepped out of the cab warily. Ezra was not far behind her, already grabbing their hefty luggage out of the trunk. They had a lot of work set out for them now that they were home. The producers for the movie based on _Then and Now_ wanted to meet to make the final edits with their input. Aria still felt strange giving input about writing from Nicole's perspective, but she remembered that she had Ezra's ring on her finger and Nicole did not.

Ezra dropped the luggage on the curb in front of The Brew, glancing up at their apartment. He grinned at Aria, sun tanned from their trip, and said, "I'm happy we stayed a week longer in Italy. Good thing we didn't have a cat, though."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Spencer promised she would look after the apartment and The Brew."

Ezra's eyebrows went up. His tone was skeptical and whimsical as he replied, "Oh, I know. She said she'd look after it on top of working as a paralegal at Hastings & Hastings, going to law school full time, juggling a parental divorce, running a brand new re-opened motel, and somehow still helping Toby and Jason with their philanthropy when the time comes."

Aria laughed, the sound of her giggles practically bouncing in the air, as she said, "That's Spence for you—always the overachiever. Now come on, string bean, let's get these bags inside before we run into someone we know."

Aria went to grab a bag, but she was halted by Ezra pulling her in for a trademark kiss. _Always a romantic_ , she thought, tasting Ezra on her lips. _Home sweet Rosewood, indeed._

* * *

 

Hanna belched loudly, the sound bouncing throughout the loft. Caleb snorted and rolled over, still napping peacefully. Hanna glanced at him before turning back to her fashion sketchbook. Both of them working from home was great and all, but Hanna was starting to crave some more privacy. Or at least someone else's face. She was hormonal, hungry, gassy, and overall just too pregnant to put up with one person 24/7. And that was just three months in. She couldn't imagine what it would be like at nine months—or how big she would be. Just remembering how Alison had to wear flats and sneakers for the last three months terrified Hanna. Could she really sacrifice heels?

Surprisingly, Hanna's phone began to ring. With Mona living on another continent, Spencer being Spencer, Aria honeymooning, and Alison and Emily taking care of two trouble twins, Hanna thought her social life was done with. Even Lucas wasn't answering any of her desperate calls. Then again, Lucas and she had unresolved issues since he told her his entire investments and life choices were all worth risking for her.

Hoisting herself up, Hanna ducked into the bathroom after seeing the caller ID. She was hoping not to wake up Caleb. Shocked a little, she picked up and said, "Mona?"

From the other line, Mona spoke, "I'm coming to Rosewood. I already know better than to ask if I can stay with you. But I figured I'd let you know. Not that you would tell the girls anyway, right?"

Hanna knew the words were intended to be bitter, but she also knew that Mona didn't sound right. She sounded afraid and hesitant—unsure of herself and where she stood. Her best friend senses tingling, Hanna asked, "Mona, are you in trouble?"

Mona didn't say anything for a moment. Then, she quickly asked, "Do you think Spencer would have reservations about letting me stay at the Lost Woods?"

Hanna shrugged before realizing she had to give a verbal response. "I don't know," she said into the phone, "Isn't it up to Ali, too?"

"Oh, honey. We both know Ali hasn't been head of the group in a long time. She tried to regain that throne and all it brought her was a jail cell, remember," Mona snickered from the other end, "Whatever. I just called you to say I was coming. I didn't want to cause any marital issues like last time."

Before Hanna could say anything in response, Mona hung up the phone on her. Hanna rolled her eyes and muttered, "Always overdramatic Mona."

* * *

 

Emily still couldn't believe that Alison was going to marry her. After all these years, all those girlfriends, she finally got the one girl she knew she couldn't live without. I mean, she tried living without her. It was awful. The only girl who got even close to being almost as good as Ali was Maya, but it hurt too much to think about her. It hurt more than thinking about Paige leaving Rosewood because of her choice to love Ali.

And here Ali came, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders and her blue eyes shining in the afternoon. Her engagement ring glinted in the sun as her bags swung back and forth with her walk. Her face lit up when she saw Emily at the car, a smile uplifting her rosy cheeks. Emily's eyes widened as warmth spread through her chest.

"Hello, gorgeous," Ali greeted her, dropping her bags and wrapping her arms around Emily. She touched her lips to Emily's softly and briskly before stepping back and saying, "Thank you for cancelling swim practice to come eat cake with me."

"I figured you and the girls and wedding cake by yourself didn't sound like the best of combinations," Emily grinned shyly as they progressed to the car.

"I would have had to pack like ten outfits for both Lily and Grace," Ali laughed. The sound was like heaven to Emily's ears. Alison was finally happy. After all these years, she was serene, peaceful, not a mean streak left.

She was the center of Emily's world.

* * *

 

For the most part, everything was dimly lit when Alex opened her eyes. A week ago, she was in Mona's dollhouse. Now, she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that she and her mum were still together. The room they were in was poorly lit. It was definitely underground, but it was not nearly as nice as Mona's underground French bunker or Charlotte's dollhouse on the videos. There were some beds and a few lights. A small, plain bathroom branched off the room. Food arrived once a day at roughly the same time each day.

Alex was even more uncomfortable here. At least with Mona, she was given more clothes and things to do. Here, all she had was her mum and daydreams about what it would be like to not be Alex Drake. Living in her own head was her worst nightmare, sometimes.

Mary had gone from taking care of her to being incredibly silent. She was reserved, withdrawn. It made Alex even more queasy than before when she was forced to talk with her mum. She knew her mum still hadn't forgiven her for knocking her out and trying to kill her twin sister.

_She just didn't understand_ , Alex thought angrily, _Spencer had it so much better_. She knew her anger towards Spencer was misguided, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't fair. It never would be.

She was never given a chance, thanks to her mum and the Hastings. But she couldn't make herself properly hold a grudge against her mum, either. She was all the family she had left now.

If only. If only that bitch Mona hadn't killed Charlotte. None of this would have happened.

Alex vowed that if she got out of the hole she was in, she would take care of Mona and Spencer once and for all.


	2. The Arrival of Mona

Hanna knew Mona was arriving sometime soon, but she still hadn't told the girls. She was enjoying seeing them all together again too much, and she hadn't quite found the time to mention it. Now that Aria had returned from her honeymoon, Alison had all the girls get together to decide on dresses and the uber bachelorette party for two. They were eating brunch at The Grille, almost like they did when they were but teenagers.

Only, Hanna found that things were simply not the same as before. Spencer was constantly on her phone, checking emails and text messages for work, Aria was writing in some new journal she wanted to cart around everywhere with her (an Ezra writing tip, apparently), and Alison and Emily were literally sitting at the table talking about the twins' flower dresses for their wedding in a couple huddle. Hanna just ate her French fries in silence, watching her friends as their lives continued around her. Her fashion business was doing well, her relationship with Caleb was stable, and she was finally pregnant, but she couldn't help but feel like something was just… not right. Out of sync. Grunwald would tell her that her psyche was telling her something, but what?

"Do you think Lily and Grace would look better in green or yellow?" Ali abruptly asked the group, "Emily wants yellow, but I think green might be a good idea."

Spencer's eyes flitted up from her phone. She paused and suggested, "Neither. Blue. It will match their eyes."

Alison made a face, but then said, "No, you're right."

There was another pause. Aria stopped scribbling in her book. She was staring off into the crowd of people. Then, she said, a little hesitation and surprise in her voice, "Is that Mona?"

Hanna breathed in sharply. She was hoping that Mona would be arriving tomorrow or another day this week, but sure enough, Mona was walking into The Grille and the girls were gaping at her in surprise. She was dressed in some French designer clothing, and her face was straight and determined. Hanna glanced at the girls and threatened, "Guys, be nice."

Alison shrugged nonchalantly, "Why wouldn't we be nice? Mona was a life-saver when-" She broke off, and all of the girls looked at a mildly uncomfortable Spencer. No one verbally mentioned her twin sister or Mary Drake. Even Hanna didn't want to bluntly bring it up as she did other things.

"Just—you know what I mean," Hanna rolled her eyes, "Sometimes Mona is the mole and we are the bat, is all."

"Hammer, Han," Spencer corrected curtly, "You wack a mole with a hammer." Hanna didn't say anything. She was beyond used to Spencer's obsessive need to be completely correct and organized at all times. But even then, when Spencer didn't correct her, Aria wasn't far behind.

"Well, if it isn't the Scooby Doo gang." All of the girls whipped their heads towards Mona, who had finally arrived at their table. She didn't bother standing. She quickly grabbed a chair and pulled it up to their table as if the chair was always there for her. She then openly glared at each girl looking for someone to challenge her presence. Not a single one did. Satisfied, she smiled.

Spencer was the first one to break the silence, which wasn't at all shocking to Hanna. She had a knack for taking charge in uncomfortable altercations, like social cat fights or police investigations. Honestly, it was a relief sometimes. Spencer was just too damned witty when it came to tense moments, and she was smart enough to get the girls out of many dangerous situations. Hanna always thought it had something to do with being raised a Hastings.

"So, what brings you back to Rosewood, Mona?" Spencer asked, putting her cell phone down for the first time in the entire brunch. All of her attention was on Mona. Hanna forgot how intense Spencer could be.

Mona looked straight at Spencer with the same determined, steely look as when she entered The Grille. In all seriousness, she said, "Not now, Spence. Wait for it."

Spencer set her jaw and unset her jaw before responding, "I'm not exactly a patient person, Mona." Hanna frowned. Did she not just ask Spencer to be nice?

"Don't I know it," Mona rolled her eyes, "What are you going to do, drop me off another cliff? Trust me, love, I need to talk to you. I need to talk to all of you. Just not here."

There was a moment of silence. Spencer didn't skip a beat from the cliff comment (honestly, Hanna had completely forgotten all about that incident at Lookout Point), but she also didn't say anything. Mona smiled, breaking into her bubbly and passive-aggressive self, "Now, what are we wearing for this gal-on-gal wedding I've been hearing about? Gosh, don't you just love a good wedding!"

The girls didn't say anything. They all just stared at Mona in disbelief, but Hanna could see it in all of their eyes. They knew just like she did. This wasn't good. Whatever Mona needed to speak to them about was not good. As a matter of fact, it was never good when they were all in Rosewood, all at once. Just why, why couldn't they all be in one place and happy all at the same time? Hanna really did jinx themselves before Aria left for her honeymoon.

_God, I have such foot in mouth syndrome_ , Hanna thought.

* * *

 

Spencer was glad to leave a surprisingly emotionally charged brunch early. She had nearly forgotten that her mother asked her to pick up Melissa from the airport. And no one could really say what Melissa's temper would have done had Spencer actually forgotten to get her. Even getting along, Melissa was temperamental.

Spencer shook her head as she drove her car towards the Philly airport. She still couldn't shake the ominous feeling that vibrated throughout her entire body. The familiar flow of anxiety and tension burst through her veins as if they had been dammed indefinitely. She almost welcomed the uncomfortable feelings after all this time, but the dread was too much. Mona Vanderwaal and whatever bad news she was going to drop on them like a bombshell straight out of hell.

Spencer's brain was racing a mile a minute. Her thoughts jumped from one tangent to the other. Mary Drake—Alex—Mona—911—no follow-up—Mona's back—where are—? She nearly missed her exit to the airport thinking about Alex coming for her, coming to steal her life and make her go away forever. And Mary Drake wouldn't—or couldn't—stop her. Would she be ready? Would she be able to win this time?

_Calm down, Spencer_ , she told herself. _Get it together, girl_.

After several deep breaths and a series of panicked thoughts, Spencer found herself in the busy airport parking lot. She shook herself out of her reverie and jumped into the bustling crowd to find Melissa—only to learn that Melissa's flight wasn't going to arrive for another half hour because of delays. And where does Spencer go when she has idle time and a permanent state of anxiety? She sat at one of the fancier airport bars.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" The bartender asked.

"A vodka soda—." A pang of hurt hit Spencer in the chest as she envisioned Wren. "Actually, no. Make that a martini with extra olives, please," she amended.

"On me," spoke a voice from right behind her. Spencer glanced up to see a tall and muscular figure. His hair was scuffled and he was wearing a flannel shirt. Pretty eyes.

Spencer leaped out of her chair and threw her arms around none other than Toby Cavanaugh. He welcomed her hug with one of his own. A small, hesitant laugh fell out of his mouth as he expressed his happiness to see Spencer. It had been a couple weeks since they went out for drinks when Spencer and he finally had a night off together.

Spencer broke off the hug and smiled at Toby. She sat down and gestured for him to sit with her. He sat down loosely, smiling back at her. Just as the last few times she had seen him, it felt both natural and awkward to be with Toby. They were rekindling some old sparks after all that time, but it still didn't erase their past. The lingering tension was filled with old arguments and habits, Yvonne, and Alex Drake.

"What are you doing here, Spence? Going abroad again?" He asked.

Spencer laughed, sipping the martini the bartender handed her, "Oh, no. I don't have time to travel right now."

"Ces't dommage," Toby sighed, saying it's a pity in French, "I'm starting to find that I rather enjoy travel now that I've left the Rosewood P.D."

Spencer smiled, remembering the moment Toby was referencing with the French phrase—the moment they sat on his porch step talking the romance language and murder investigations. Though, she never smiled more than when she was with the good old carpenter.

"And what about you?" She bit her lip, "Going to go build more houses in Africa?"

"Ah, sadly no. As much fun as it was to help others," Toby picked up her drink and took a sip, wincing a little at the taste, "Think I'll stick to beer… No, but I just got in from a quick trip in the slums of Mexico. I spent a week helping some of the poorer citizens without jobs. Jason needs me to help out of the nonprofit here in Philly again, though. Besides, I'll get to see you even more often than before." He put his hand on hers, pulling her long fingers out and folding them over in his palm.

Spencer bit her lip, watching as his hand moved over her closed fingers and wrapped around her wrist. She felt that familiar feeling build up inside—today was all about familiar feelings—and she thought, _I still have time before Melissa arrives… Maybe we could go to a bathroom or a closet. It's not like Aria hasn't done the same with Ezra before, right?_

Toby moved his hand down to her knee before abruptly retracting it. Spencer was confused, but then she heard a certain tapping noise that irritated her to no end. And sure enough, Spencer turned to leer towards the eerie blind girl creeping her way over to the bar.

"You have got to be kidding me," Spencer breathed, her voice low enough that Toby couldn't hear. Louder, she turned to Toby, "What is she doing here? Doesn't she teach at Rosewood High as a life skills coach?"

Toby eyed his step-sister with suspicion, nodding his head slowly. Jenna Marshall halted at the bar, a few feet from Toby and Spencer. She tilted her head to the side before smiling in the creepy way that she always did when she identified her surroundings.

"Fancy seeing you both here," Jenna remarked, "Spencer. Toby."

"Going on vacation?" Spencer snickered, "I didn't think you were one to go sightseeing." Jenna frowned, but she didn't seem offended by the comment. Toby looked a little disappointed, but Spencer ignored him. She always had a strong disliking for Jenna. She used to feel bad for what she and her friends did, but after learning and watching the videos of what Jenna did to Toby, Spencer could never feel guilty again. Bitch got what she deserved.

Sighing, Jenna explained, "I have a doctor's appointment out of town to see another surgeon. I'm sure you know by now that my second surgery failed."

Toby spoke briskly, "My father told me."

"And you didn't call," Jenna whined, "How sad."

Spencer snorted in disbelief. Jenna sure was consistent.

"Is there a problem, Spencer?" The blind girl snapped her attention to Spencer, enunciating her name, "Are you having trouble using your voice?"

Spencer smirked, "Oh, no. My voice is fine, just like my other senses." Toby's eyes widened at Spencer's bold comments—he hadn't seen her talk that way since they were in high school. Even Spencer was a little surprised by her upfront insults, but she chalked it up to her usual impulsiveness and the raging nostalgia that was waving over her.

Jenna just shook her head, almost smiling. She stepped closer to Spencer, almost in her face with her stick, and said in a low tone, "Do you know how I knew it wasn't you when that bitch took over your life? It wasn't just her perfume. She was too _nice_. But you… Well, Alison might have gotten good at pretending to be nice, but you haven't changed a bit, have you? You can take the mean girl out of high school, but you can't take the mean out of the girl."

Before Spencer could respond, Jenna pushed her stick out and tapped her way into a different airport bar. Spencer didn't even bother looking at Toby. She felt ashamed, but not because of her actions. She felt ashamed because she lost. She was a Hastings, that was for sure.

* * *

 

Alex was tired of sitting restlessly and staring at blank, dimly lit walls. Her mum might have been satisfied doing just that, but she wasn't. She bounced off of her bed and sat on the floor, pulling the cheap metal frame towards her. She had always had a hard time sitting still.

"What are you doing?" Mary Drake's head spun towards Alex from the loud scraping noise of the bed.

Alex rolled her eyes. She remarked, her accent almost enhancing her sarcasm "Oh, now you want to talk? Right when I start to do somethin'.”

Her mum didn't say anything. Alex jerked her attention back to the frame. Earlier, when she was bored, she noticed that the frames were cheaply built and poorly welded. She could easily bend most of the metal with her bare hands. And that is exactly what she did.

Alex pulled one of the legs of the bed off, bending the welded part back and forth until it released its hold. She started to work her hands to shape the cheap metal into something sharp, almost like a shank.

Her mum moved closer to her, observing her work. "What are you doing?" She asked again.

Alex glanced at her, but her focus was on the metal in her hands. She answered briskly, "Makin' a weapon. Food comes at the same time each day. Next time, I'll be ready."

Her mum didn't say anything. She didn't protest nor did she help. Alex questioned whether or not she had given up. Had her mum finally resigned to the fact that she was never going to be free, ever? Her twin sister had put her in a straight-jacket, her own actions had isolated her away from her family, and one of her daughters had caused her to confess to murder and imprison herself. Alex wouldn't be surprised if her mum really was just done trying. She would be, too, after all of that.

Except Alex wasn't tired. She was motivated. Her story had only just begun, and she wasn't going to let it end with someone else writing the conclusion. So she worked the metal piece with her hands.

* * *

 

Aria's head was still reeling from brunch. Spencer had skipped out early, but she had to endure Mona and Hanna discussing the differences between French croissants and American croissants all while contemplating what Mona could possibly want to talk to them about—and why she couldn't talk in The Grille. Aria was still distracted even when she got home, dropping her keys on the floor instead of the counter. She picked them up slowly, her eyes turning to the burn mark in the floor.

_Still can't believe I left a burning phone on the apartment floor_ , she mused. _Life sure was crazy then_.

"And it might just get crazier yet," she said aloud to only herself. A dark cloud loomed over her. She didn't want to be afraid anymore. She was tired of being afraid. She thought it was over, finally over. But even so, old habits die hard.

So when her phone buzzed, she nearly jumped a foot. Glancing down, she read a group text from Mona that was addressed to all the girls:

_The Lost Woods. Tonight. 8 pm. –Mona_

Aria glanced at the time. She had almost 8 hours of anxiety to live through, and Ezra was at a press meeting with their boss Julian for another hour. Taking a deep breath, her pulled out her laptop. Maybe writing would put her jitters at ease.

* * *

 

Emily read Mona's text aloud to Alison, but she didn't like the look that Alison gave her in response. Ali didn't say anything, but Emily knew that she was not happy. Mona meant trouble. Her presence in Rosewood was trouble, and Emily knew that Ali was watching her back because of the Addison Derringer disappearance.

She didn't say anything, either. She didn't know what to say this time. How many times could she tell Alison that everything was going to be okay? How many times could she tell Alison that she would protect her no matter what? But even Emily knew that she couldn't protect Alison from Alison herself. And even she knew that she went to bed each night occasionally wondering if Alison really did have anything to do with Addison's disappearance, especially after Alison had mentioned the idea of knowing someone to get rid of the terrible teenager.

But Emily tried to look beyond that. She and Alison were going to get married, and they had two beautiful twin daughters that they promised they would raise right (that was a conversation that occurred after the Spencer and Alex fight—twins in the Dilaurentis family didn't have the best track record). And Alison was different now.

_There's nothing to worry about_ , Emily told herself, _It's just Mona. Nothing is going to happen to Alison_.

She wouldn't let anything happen to her. She'd kill Mona before she would let anything happen to Alison.


	3. A is Back, Bitches

Spencer stared at Mona for a long time, letting her words sink in and soak. None of her friends were looking at her, and, quite frankly, she couldn't look at them. No one could look at anyone—except for looking at Mona. And Mona was looking at her feet, ashamed but somehow still proud.

They were all sitting around each other in the Lost Woods' lobby. Emily and Alison were on the loveseat, and Spencer, Aria, and Hanna were sitting in rounded and cushioned chairs. They were all seated close together, but Mona was opposite of the group, sitting in her own island. Spencer noticed this had been the norm dating back to high school. Mona was always an outsider in some shape or form. Spencer knew it wasn't always fair, but Mona couldn't be trusted and she wasn't actually proving herself trustworthy now. The girl was shady even in her best moments.

Spencer spoke slowly, in the way that she does when she tries to understand something absurd by putting it into logical order, "So let me get this straight… You kidnapped Mary and Alex Drake after they sabotaged our lives. After you killed Charlotte. Then, you put them into your own miniature version of the dollhouse while living in France for _three months_. And suddenly, out of nowhere, some anonymous—some other A—comes in and steals them?" She couldn't help the accusatory tone that came out of her mouth. Stress and tension were building up in her neck, and she was starting to feel like this was a long, long day.

"All of that is correct," Mona said matter-of-factly.

"This isn't happening!" Hanna exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and pacing back and forth. Spencer lost count of how many times she had heard Hanna say those very words.

"Tell me you're kidding, Han," Ali rolled her eyes, exasperated, "Of course this is happening. Why wouldn't it?"

"No, Ali's right," Aria threw up her hands, with hard and angry eyes, "Why wouldn't this happen? First, Mona is A because of Alison's incessant bullying back in the day—" Ali glared at Aria, but Aria continued unrelenting, "Then, her adopted sister—Spencer's actual half-sister—stalks us and becomes A because she was put in a mental institution by her own family. Then, Spencer's surprise evil British twin comes out of the woodwork—"

Hanna snipped, "Your family is worse than the Addams family."

"—and now there's some other shadow dwelling anonymous villain?" Aria finished, "Because why not? Why not continue this cycle of torture and fear and crazy?"

Everyone fell silent, eyes darting around the room. No one could deny the familiar feelings of paranoia and guilt that washed all over them. Spencer didn't know how to feel. Her biological mother and sister could be out there, somewhere, free or not. She had conflicted feelings of worry and terror. If someone had taken them, were they okay? If they were free roaming, were they coming for them? Which was worse?

"Look… I'm sorry," Mona picked up her head, bringing Spencer's attention back to her, "I couldn't… I won the game. I won. It was my game, and I took it back. I got greedy."

Emily finally spoke, her face and dark eyes round with worry, "So then who took it this time? If it wasn't Charlotte—"

"Thanks to Mona," Hanna rasped.

Emily gave her a look, "—and it wasn't pod-person Spencer or Mary Drake, then who?"

"Jenna?" Suggested Aria. She was wringing her hands together and her eyes were darting from person to person. Spencer knew she did this when she was anxious.

Alison shook her head, "No way. I've actually started getting along with blind Jenna at the school."

"Same," Emily agreed. She gave Alison a small smile and took her hand. Spencer noticed that Emily was falling back into her old habit of idolizing Alison. She had tried warning her to be careful with Alison before the little twins were born, but Emily was as hard headed as ever. Spencer just wanted to make sure that Alison wasn't going to take advantage of Emily's love and loyalty. So far it seemed good, and they were both happy, but the future was uncertain again with the possibility of another stalker out there.

Even so, Spencer scoffed at Alison, "It can't be Jenna because you are colleagues? You and Cece were best buds, but that didn't stop Charlotte from beating you up in your living room."

Alison shot Spencer a dirty look, "And it certainly didn't stop you from trying to bash me in the head with a shovel once."

The comment hurt, but Spencer still pushed back. "That just proves my point. We all know Jenna isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and we all know she's as two-faced as they come in Rosewood."

Mona sighed and reminded, "That includes everyone in this room, Spencer."

Everyone looked at Spencer expectantly now. Spencer hated when they did that. She knew they were waiting for her to come up with an answer, a solution. She was the smart one. She always had the theories or the plan. But sometimes, she just wanted to crawl up in a ball and let someone else do the figuring out. In a way, she knew that was why she couldn't figure out A.D. She didn't want to figure it out. She was tired. All of the family secrets and the dead bodies—she couldn't do it anymore. It hurt too much. When was it ever going to stop hurting?

But the girls were depending on her. On _her_. They didn't turn to Alison, the queen bee, or Mona, the original A. They turned to her. Spencer Hastings. After all that time, she was the boss.

Taking a deep breath, Spencer tried to clear her mind and erase her emotions, her anxiety. She took in the girls and spoke logically, "It's easier if we look at who we know it can't be, right? So like we have already mentioned: not Charlotte, not Alex or Mary, not Noel—"

"He doesn't have the brains, anyway," sniped Alison.

"Literally," remarked Mona.

Spencer snickered. "Not Sydney."

"Why not Sydney?" Aria turned to Spencer.

Spencer shook her head and explained, "Something Alex said to me when I was in that place. Sydney was a 'one-off'." She paused, then continued, "Not Wren. He's gone. Not Archer—he is also gone."

"I'm noticing a trend here," Alison chuckled.

"The only living people I can think of," Hanna put in, "Is Jenna and Melissa."

Spencer sat ramrod straight and demanded defensively, "Why Melissa?"

As she said that, Emily also asked, "What about Lucas?"

"No, not Lucas," Hanna asserted.

"Then not Melissa either!" Spencer argued. Hanna and Spencer made eye contact, indignant. They always butted heads on the topic of Melissa and the twisted plots of Rosewood. Hanna was always quick to judge and accuse Melissa, but Melissa was one of Spencer's last siblings standing. She couldn't suffer through the thought that Melissa would harm her. Not her big sister.

But even she couldn't deny that Melissa was a shark with secrets, at best.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, guys," Aria said, "The only person who has gotten an A message has been Mona. What if they only wanted Mary and Alex?"

Spencer looked to Mona. Mona looked at everyone, but her eyes ultimately fell to Spencer. A knowing look passed between them, and Mona said, "One could only hope."

Everyone turned to Spencer. She didn't even have to say the words aloud.

_Hope breeds eternal misery_.

* * *

 

_Hope breeds eternal misery_ , Alex thought. That's what Spencer always said. She had noted that when she first looked through Charlotte's things and began learning about her twin sister. She remembered thinking about how bleak and cynical her sister was. _And she didn't even know the half of it, living in that big house with money, family, and friends_.

Alex twisted her makeshift shank in her hands angrily. She gripped it tightly and nearly cut herself. Her sister got the good side of the deal, and she had the audacity to say that hope breeds eternal misery? Alex was damn well hoping to give eternal misery regardless.

_Those bitches will get what they deserve_ , she sneered, _if I have to rot in this underground hole one more day…_

After squeezing the piece of metal she forged into a weapon, Alex sighed and released her grip as well as some of her grudge. She ultimately knew that Spencer and her friends were most likely not responsible for imprisoning her and her mum. And if it wasn't Mona, then it could only be one person. Alex wishes she knew who it was, but all she learned is that it was someone that Charlotte was previously in contact with on multiple occasions. She had discovered this from some of Charlotte's things involving the game, but there was no name or evidence suggesting who she spoke with. Alex originally thought it was Lucas because of their preexisting friendship when Charlotte was originally Charles. But when she contacted Lucas during her go at the game, she learned that he was a coward and that he was hopelessly in love with Hanna.

Essentially, Alex was clueless, and she didn't like it. So she directed her anger towards the girls, because secrets and death surrounded them and dragged everyone around them down, too. That's how she lost Charlotte and Archer. And now her freedom to Mona and whoever put her in this underground chamber.

Alex glanced at her mum. She was asleep on the other bed—the one she didn't contort and tear apart—and she happened to be sleeping heavily. Unbeknownst to Mary, Alex whispered to herself, "I wonder if this is what they felt like when Charlotte played with them. When I played with them."

After the words echoed around her and she listened to her own voice, Alex felt a small pang of guilt deep in her gut. She hated this feeling. She hated being like them.

She wanted out.

* * *

 

Alison felt strange. She was scared, but she was used to the feeling. She didn't know how to calm Emily's nerves, because Emily was more freaked out than her, but she also didn't know how to express the complex emotions that were battling out within herself. If anything, she was more afraid of being charged for something to do with Addison Derringer's disappearance than she was afraid of another A.

But beyond her own fear, Alison had a feeling that she was sure was gnawing at Emily. This feeling was absolute terror for their girls, Lily and Grace. If anything happened to them, Alison was going to go out for blood. But Emily would be devastated.

Alison glanced at her fiancée. She was asleep in the passenger seat of their car. The twin girls were at Emily's mother's house for the night, staying with an all-to-eager Grandma Pam. They had sent the twins there so they could meet the girls and Mona at the Lost Woods. Emily's mother thought that she and Alison needed a break to spend some alone time. As much as this was true, especially with the stress of planning their wedding, Alison knew that her and Emily weren't going to have a romantic evening. Mona's bombshell took care of that mood—much to Alison's disappointment.

When they arrived at the Dilaurentis family home, Alison shook Emily awake gently. She gave her a weak smile before going around and helping her sleepy mermaid out of the car. Once inside, Emily nearly collapsed on the couch from exhaustion. Alison was also tired. They had gotten so used to their stress-free lives (minus the Addison case and the school gossip) that they forgot what stress and emotional duress did to their bodies.

Alison took a deep breath after watching Emily snooze for a little bit. She walked towards the kitchen to poor herself a much-needed glass of wine. As she was doing so, she noticed that something was clogged in her wine bottle as she put the lip of the bottle to her glass. Her gut wrenched as she pulled a thick purple material from the bottle. Damp and soaked in red liquid, Alison unfolded her old friendship bracelet from sophomore year with her name embroidered in white—now smeared red—letters. Almost immediately, her phone buzzed.

With her hands shaking, she clicked on the message from a familiar blocked called ID:

_Did you miss me? –A_

Alison ran towards her windows and immediately opened the blinds. She jumped from window to window, searching. Her search was in vain, though. If anyone had been out there, they were already gone.

_Here we go again_ , she thought as her heart raced.

* * *

 

Aria entered her apartment quietly. Ezra had fallen asleep at his desk with his laptop still open and his journal lying in his lap. A bottle of board shorts ale was loosely held in his hand, and Aria noted that he hadn't gotten to shaving his 5 o'clock shadow. She walked up to him and lightly tossed his hair, which was doing its slight curly thing because he needed a haircut and wasn't able to cut it much over their honeymoon.

Aria admired his jaw line as Ezra continued to sleep. He looked as rugged and handsome as a literary nerd could, but that was all Aria ever needed and ever wanted. She couldn't deny the connection she always felt to Ezra. He was her rock.

But once again she was wondering how she could tell him the truth. They had promised each other that once the honeymoon was done and the movie was finished, they were going to start the process of applying to adoption agencies. How could she apply knowing that there was someone who stole—kidnapped—living people from Mona and left an A message?

Her phone buzzed. She sucked in her breath and opened the message immediately. It was a group text from Alison.

_Got an A message. And a throwback. –Ali_

Attached to the text was a picture of Alison's friendship bracelet. It was one of the one's that the girls had found after Alison first went missing. Aria breathed out hard. That does it. A was back. How was she going to tell Ezra? How was she going to put him through more turmoil?

* * *

 

Hanna stared at Ali's text message in disbelief. Rather than even trying to explain anything or come up with words, Hanna walked from her front door, which she had just walked through, and into Caleb's small office area where he was up late working. She didn't greet him. She simply thrusted her phone into his face. She nearly knocked him in the nose with it.

Caleb took the phone from her and read over the message. His mouth gaped open and he looked to Hanna for explanation.

Hanna began walking back and forth quickly. She twiddled with her long blonde hair and recited everything that Mona said as well as what the bracelet meant. She was talking fast, and she kept talking until Caleb stood up, grabbed her arms, and forced her to face him.

"Hanna, breathe," he commanded. His eyes were urgent and his expression was tired. He spoke quietly and quickly, "Listen to me. We can't get involved. We can't let you or our future baby be put in harm's way."

"We don't get to make that choice!" Hanna argued, pulling away from Caleb. She should have known this was going to turn into a fight at first, but she knew she couldn't hide something like this from Caleb. She continued to shout, "We never get to make the choices. A has all of the control. They always do, no matter who they are!"

"I know, Hanna. I know. But you're pregnant and we are starting a family and we have a good thing going and—"

"You think I don't know this, Caleb?" Hanna turned to him. Her face said it all. She was an open book to Caleb.

Caleb resigned himself. He closed his eyes and counted to ten quickly. He opened his eyes again and stepped closer to Hanna. Gently, he placed his hand on her small belly bump and looked into her eyes. Hanna's heart skipped a beat as she looked back at her husband. He breathed, "I'm sorry. I'm scared. And I know you're scared, too. I can't imagine how you feel right now. How this could possibly be happening again. But I'm here. I'm here if you need me, and I'll be here to protect you and our unborn child. We won before, and we can win again."

Hanna looked at Caleb for a long time. She gave him a hungry look before grabbing his face and pulling him to her mouth. Aggressively, she kissed him. She kissed him like her life depended on it, and in a funny way, she missed the passion and the excitement and the fear that came with loving a person so much you were afraid to lose them. In a sick and twisted thought, she wondered if it was this desperation and togetherness that she had been missing for the last three months.


	4. Addison is the New Alison

Mona was sincerely shocked that Spencer and Alison were letting her book a room at the Lost Woods Resort, especially after she had told them what transpired since Aria's wedding. She was even more surprised that Alison had included her in the group chat when she texted about her friendship bracelet and its accompanying A message. But the shock factor was tripled when Mona walked into the lobby room of the resort early the morning after to see Spencer, still dressed in her clothes from the night before, sitting at the front desk with a glass of liquor—the hard stuff. Her father's special collection.

Mona tentatively approached Spencer. She had learned over the years that Spencer could be carefully composed or downright falling apart depending on the situation. She assumed that last night, when the girls were still there, that Spencer had composed herself. Now, she looked more like the latter option.

"Spencer?" She reached the strung-out girl who was looking at her phone. Alison's text message was sitting in front of her with all its A message glory. She looked up at the sound of Mona's voice and her eyebrows furrowed together.

Sitting up straight, she asked, "Mona? What time is it?"

Mona gave her old academic rival a steady look. "It's 7 am, Spence. You might want to go wash up and change before your other guests come out and see you. Did you even go home last night?" She knew the question was pointless. It was clear Spencer had spent one of her many sleepless nights sitting in this lobby room by herself. Sure, she might have micro-napped every now and then, but the basket case was most likely exhausted and worn out.

Sure enough, Spencer said, "No, I never went to bed." Slowly, she closed her phone out, sipped the remaining liquor in her glass till it was gone, stood up, and walked unsteadily from the room.

Mona remembered when she had been envious of Spencer, much like Alex. She was envious of her well-known and respected family, of Spencer's achievements and success, of her friends as well as her ability to stand up on her own. Spencer was smart and manipulative. She was rock solid and stubborn—she stood her ground when needed. Mona aspired to be like her and even admired her when they were in high school. She almost wished she could have replaced Spencer in the friend group, but she knew it would be futile.

But even then, as she grew to know Spencer more, she also grew to know the Hastings and what they did to the poor girl. Mona knew Alex envied Spencer, but Alex had no idea what it was like to be raised a Hastings. The things that Mona did not envy were centered around the turmoil Spencer endured being a member of that family—even before all of the dead bodies and secrets. Spencer's parents would pressure her and they wouldn't acknowledge her unless she lived up to Melissa's standards. She was treated harsher by both of her parents, and one would say it was possible she was treated differently because she came from Mary Drake. Even more, Melissa would take advantage of Spencer's insecurities to order her around and treat her like a pet. This overbearing weight caused poor sensitive Spencer to be addicted to amphetamines—speeding just to keep up with the house of Hastings. It also didn't help when Spencer dealt with the family secrets and the A game, ultimately assisting her admittance to Radley.

That was when Mona realized she pitied Spencer. She pitied her more than she pitied Alison. God knows Spencer could be just as mean as Alison back in the day, but she learned those skills navigating to survive. Instead, Alison learned those skills just by watching her mother, Jessica Dilaurentis. Just imagining putting Alex in the world of Hastings from the start, Mona knew Spencer would have even less of a chance of survival in that family. She was better off not knowing about Alex, according to Mona. If only Alex had stayed hidden.

"Actually, Mona?" Mona's head shot up. Spencer had returned to the doorway. She was still in the clothes from before, but it looked like some of the grogginess of staying awake had washed away. _Perhaps she found some caffeine already_ , Mona mused.

She nodded, acknowledging Spencer.

Spencer's face hardened. "I wanted to ask you. When you put Mary and… and—" "Alex." "—And Alex in that place," Spencer looked down at her hands, "What did you do to them?"

Mona appeared surprised. She wasn't positive if Spencer would be angry with her actions or not. She had given Spencer peace, but she had also taken some of her relatives. Contemplating, Mona realized that perhaps some of Spencer cared about Mary and Alex's well-being despite all they had done, much like Alison had cared for Charlotte.

Mona decided that honesty was her best policy. She wanted to make things up to Spencer. And she was going to. She was going to figure out who stole the game from her, and she was going to fix this. For Spencer. For Alison. For Hanna, and all of the others.

"I did no worse than Charlotte did in the dollhouse."

* * *

 

Emily had woken up early to pick up the twins from her mother's house. She left Alison sleeping soundly. She didn't want to disturb her, especially after Alison had woken her up last night in a panic. Emily couldn't believe she had fallen asleep on the couch so quickly and wasn't there for Alison immediately as she got that A message.

Emily grit her teeth as she turned her car into her neighborhood. Alison had woken her up crying and shaking the night before. She did everything she could to calm her down, but she hadn't quite calmed herself down. This would be the fourth time another A has come into their lives. Exactly when was the madness going to end?

She pulled her car into her mother's driveway. She braced herself for a million questions from her mother about the wedding and tried to wipe her mind. At least her babies were going to give her the calming effect she needed. She loved those little tykes with all of her heart.

* * *

 

Hanna was shocked that the girls did not plan to meet that morning. Alison had gotten an A message, but everyone was going on with things as normal. Perhaps it was normal. Their lives were never really left alone for too long. There always seemed to be an A at some point, right?

Even so, Hanna felt a bit lost as she set to work that day. She laid out her fabrics and sketchpad to begin working on a designer dress for one of her clients. Most of her career had cleared up since A.D. had taken a stab at it three months ago. The fashion world moved lightning fast and Hanna was able to recover a lot of her reputation once some other upcoming designer had a major scandal.

Hopefully, she wasn't going to have another hiccup. _So long as this new A allows_ , she chided herself. Yet, somehow, she didn't feel as concerned as she thought she would. Yes, she was upset. Yes, she was terrified. But it was almost as if those feelings were welcomed—as if it was how things were supposed to be.

_Maybe I'm just broken?_

* * *

 

Alex stared at the food slot to the underground room she and her mum were still locked in. She felt as if she had been staring at the food slot for hours now. They weren't fed last night, either. Alex wondered if their captor had watched her fix up the makeshift metal weapon and was not risking feeding them.

_Better be afraid_ , she thought, _I'm out for blood_.

Still, nothing happened at the food slot. There wasn't even a breeze or a shadow. Alex breathed out a big, heavy sigh. Out of boredom, she turned to her mum and asked, "You think Spencer knew Mona took us?" She asked about Spencer because she knew that her mum would respond to such a question. Even she favored Spencer. Her own mother favored her twin. Perhaps that's why she was the one who was sold, and Spencer got the Cinderella life she should have gotten.

She was right, for Mary Drake sat up on her bed. She responded slowly, "It wouldn't be like Spencer to let Mona do such a thing. Spencer was in that bunker of Charlotte's. I don't think she would wish that on anyone."

Alex smirked, "Maybe not you. Maybe me. She'd wish it on me, after everything I did as A.D." Thinking that actually hurt Alex a little, but she didn't want to give that away. Besides, she had also imprisoned Spencer. She had even tried to be Spencer. Why would Spencer ever hold any regard for her? And, from what Charlotte used to tell her, Spencer was a terrible person. That's why she felt justified in taking over Spencer's life—because she didn't think Spencer deserved to have everything while she had nothing herself.

"You don't know that," her mum said quietly and gently, "You never even gave Spencer a chance to know you. You never gave yourself a chance to know her."

Alex thought about that statement for a second, before saying, "Charlotte never gave either of us a chance. I wanted to meet Spencer before Charlotte left England, but Charlotte wouldn't bring me to the States."

Her mum moved closer to her, placing her hand on Alex's hand. She gave her a small smile. It was a sad smile. "Exactly, sweetheart. She's your sister. Your twin sister. Doesn't that mean something to you?"

Alex pulled her hand away abruptly. She had a flash of anger, and she knew she surprised her mum. Regardless of her mum's feelings, she spat, "Did that mean something to you when you killed your twin? And exactly what type of example are you trying to set here, mum?"

Her mum immediately withdrew. She didn't respond, but she simply turned away and went back to lying down on her bed. She watched her mum stare at wall and was surprised to see her mum mumble to herself as she did so.

Alex shook her head. How dare she tell her to love her twin sister when she had murdered her own? How dare her mum be angry with her for trying to kill Spencer when she had successfully killed Jessica? It wasn't fair! Nothing was ever fair for Alex!

_All thanks to Crazy Mary_ , she thought as she turned back to glare at the food slot.

* * *

 

Alison was woken up by a sharp rapping on her front door. Someone was knocking at an early hour. She jumped out of bed, glimpsed at Emily's note saying she was grabbing the little ones, and headed for the front door. Peeking through the doorway, Alison breathed in sharply.

She creaked the door open and crossed her arms. "Lieutenant Tanner, what can I do for you?" Alison greeted in a steely tone.

Lieutenant Tanner stood on the stoop with two other Rosewood P.D. officers flanking her. She had the same old smug expression she always wore when interacting with Alison and the other girls. Her outfit was pressed and ironed, and she was fairly well-groomed for a detective.

Alison waited patiently. Finally, Lieutenant Tanner spoke, "Miss Dilaurentis—that is the name you go by again, correct?"

Alison nodded. She ditched Rollins' last name the second she could.

Lieutenant Tanner continued, choosing her words carefully, "Early this morning around 4 A.M. I received an anonymous tip. This tip included information on the Addison Derringer disappearance. With the information, I was able to achieve a warrant—as a precautionary measure—and a forensics team to search the lake behind the Lost Woods Resort. If I am not mistaken, you are a co-owner of this establishment?"

"Yes," Alison answered, her stomach twisting into a knot, "Spencer Hastings and I own and maintain the motel."

The lieutenant smiled. "Good, good. Well, the forensics team and myself were at the lake, and we didn't have to look far. Now, we were not on the property line of the motel—which is why the warrant was precautionary—but I must notify you, Miss Dilaurentis, that the body of Addison Derringer was found fairly close to the Lost Woods."

Alison's mouth opened and closed. Addison's disappearance was now ruled a murder. The déjà vu nearly swindled her, but the panic of the body being so close to her property was even worse. This would mean that—

"And so, I would like to invite you down to the precinct for some questions."

* * *

 

Spencer was craving a large glass of wine, but the only refreshments offered at the Rosewood Police Department were water and probing questions. She had seen Alison in the waiting room, as they were both owners of the Lost Woods Resort, but Lieutenant Tanner had placed them in separate interrogation rooms once they were ready to ask their questions.

_For once, they have brains_ , she thought.

But this was not where she wanted to spend her morning after not sleeping the night before. She even still had liquor on her breath from drinking all night. Did she really have the gusto to answer questions right now?

But it is only custom, of course. A new A is here, so she must be involved with some type of murder investigation, because if there isn't a dead body, there isn't an A. The monster manifests from the deadliest of secrets. And what is deadlier than murder?

Lieutenant Tanner slithered into the room smoothly and sat across from Spencer. She placed a thick file in front of her much to Spencer's amusement. This was a tactic she had not seen Tanner use before.

"Miss Hastings," the lieutenant mused, "I would say 'I didn't think I would be seeing you so soon', but if I am being honest… Well, even if you have gotten away with murder before—perhaps once or maybe even twice—I am not shocked to see you again."

Spencer threw up her hands sarcastically and snided, "Because I must be guilty of something, right?"

Lieutenant Tanner smiled, opening the file, "Because you have been involved in multiple murder investigations, and you have been the prime suspect of several of these investigations. Because you have several delinquencies throughout high school, such as but not limited to: drug abuse, trespassing, breaking and entering, stealing, bullying, vandalism, destruction of property, assault, disturbing the peace, lying to the police… must I go on? Or because—" she continued to flip through Spencer's records, "—you were admitted to Radley as a Jane Doe under the false pretense of Amnesia, but you were held for a mental evaluation as well as outbursts and severe mood swings. Because you were in and out of rehabilitation for drug use, and you have abused multiple types of substances. Because—"

"Do you really think I need a recount of my lowest moments?" Spencer interrupted, "Plot twist, lieutenant, I lived through those events."

The lieutenant chuckled and closed the file. "Yes. You lived through these events. You made these decisions. You unburied graves and reburied graves. You messed with evidence and hid secrets. You only ever told your parents or the police what you wanted them to know. And I know you have been the victim of many, many, many unfortunate events, but you have also continued to make decisions and choices that lead to severe consequences."

"What is your point, Lieutenant?" Spencer deadpanned, "Am I being accused of something here? Am I being arrested—because, if so, I would like to call my attorney. If not, I would like to take my leave."

"Miss Hastings, you are not above the law," said Lieutenant Tanner, "You have been the victim of several crimes, but that does not mean you cannot break the law yourself."

Once again, Spencer asked, gritting her teeth, "Am I being accused of something?"

Lieutenant Tanner paused for a moment. Then, she began a rapid sequence of questions, "Did you know anything about the disappearance of Addison Derringer?"

"No."

"Have you had any contact with the deceased before she originally went missing three months ago? Or even after she originally disappeared?"

"Never spoke to the girl in my life."

"Did you know Miss Derringer was Alison Dilaurentis' student?"

"She might have mentioned it."

"Are you aware of any ill will that may have been between Miss Dilaurentis and Miss Derringer?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Do you know anything about the body being behind your motel?"

"I wouldn't know anything, Lieutenant. I didn't even know the girl was dead," Spencer leaned forward, "I just thought she was missing. I figured she skipped town, perhaps like Alison did when we were younger."

Lieutenant Tanner corrected, "Miss Dilaurentis faked her death and hid in New York City. In which, I never truly found out what happened that night she faked her death. All I know is that the person sending those cyber messages to you and your friends scared her off. And that Charlotte Dilaurentis took full responsibility for most of those incidents before her admittance to Welby."

"Then perhaps you should be interrogating Addison Derringer's friends," Spencer suggested crudely, "And not the unlucky owners of a motel that are going to have to do damage control in order to maintain and keep guests interested in staying there."

The lieutenant did not respond to Spencer. She merely looked at her with a glint in her eye that told Spencer she wasn't getting away with anything. Spencer knew this detective was determined to slam them with some sort of crime, but Spencer honestly did not know anything about the poor teenager who wound up dead behind her and Alison's resort. And she knew Alison, who was previously questioned once the girl disappeared, did not know anything because she had privately questioned Alison herself. Alison didn't enjoy Spencer's own interrogation, but Spencer knew that Alison had nothing to do with the girl's disappearance. At least, Alison swore she didn't.

But, of course, a body would be found behind their motel the same night a new A reveals their presence to the girls. The same night Mona books a room with them, too, she remembered.

Finally, Lieutenant Tanner dismissed her from the interrogation room. She took Spencer's statements and lead her to the front desk. It looked as if Alison was still being questioned.

To ease some of Spencer's own suspicions about this girl's death being connected with this new A, Spencer asked the lieutenant before leaving the precinct, "If I might ask, Lieutenant—out of general curiosity—how was Addison Derringer killed?"

Lieutenant Tanner eyed Spencer sharply before answering, "She was bashed in the back of the head with a shovel."

* * *

 

Aria bit her lip as Ezra rolled over in bed and wrapped his arms around her. They had slept in. Ezra was sleepy from staying up late writing (when Aria found him asleep on his laptop the night before), and Aria was exhausted from panicking for most of the night after reading Alison's group text. She still wasn't ready to tell Ezra that yet another A was here to torment her and her friends.

But that thought and those worries began to be far from her mind when Ezra pulled her closer to him, kissing the back of her neck while they still laid in bed. Her mind wandered as his hands moved underneath the blankets and touched her familiarly. Only he could touch her the way he did, the same way he had since they first got together. His kisses were gentle, but his hands were probing. Aria moaned as he hit her spots, and she leaned into him, eager for his touch and his hot breath on the back of her neck.

After a hot few minutes, they both calmed and relaxed into each other. Ezra whispered into her ear, "How do pancakes sound? Maybe some breakfast in bed?"

Aria sighed a barely audible agreement as she rested her head on her pillow. She felt Ezra grin against her ear before he sprang out of bed, stretching like a cat. He took his boyish smile into the kitchen to fry up some breakfast.

While the smell of love and food wafted into the bedroom, Aria's phone chimed. She rolled over and opened it, her hand flying to her mouth as she read a message from the one and only blocked caller I.D.:

_Still hot for a teacher, even after graduation? Naughty bitch. —A_

_No freaking way_ , Aria thought, _A really is back_.


	5. A Few Shocking Revelations

_Rosewood, a few days after Addison's body was found_

Hanna pulled her car into the Lost Woods Resort after working on fashion designs all day. Mona had called her sometime around noon to go out for lunch, and Hanna was shocked in her eagerness to accept the offer. She did not expect the scene she came upon when she arrived at the motel, though.

The Rosewood P.D. had infested the Lost Woods. They were inside the motel, outside the motel, and encompassing the lake and woods around the motel. Lieutenant Tanner was on the scene, and Alison and Spencer—both looking tired and annoyed—were standing with her as the forensic unit tore apart their property. Hanna stayed in the parking lot and called Mona to let her know she had arrived, but she kept her eye on the officers as they worked.

_What the hell was going on?_ She wondered. She would have gone up to Ali and Spencer, but she knew better. They wouldn't want her to go up—it would look more suspicious to Tanner and they had not sent an SOS.

Eventually, Mona emerged from the motel. She was confident in navigating the police officers and she easily slid into Hanna's car. Hanna wasn't in a rush to leave, for she was still watching the Rosewood P.D. work.

Mona eyed Hanna warily before turning to the scene herself. "They found Addison Derringer's body in the lake behind the Lost Woods. She was hit in the back of the head with a shovel. From what I could tell, Alison and Spencer have been dealing with the police since it happened. I'm surprised they didn't tell you all, especially since the A messages have been coming in. But isn't it just fascinating that those two are in the middle of trouble again?"

Hanna bit her lip. Even she knew it could not be a coincidence that Ali and Spencer were always in the middle of things. What was it about those two? And why didn't they tell her about this new body—this new murder investigation? Did they do it? It's not like she was going to judge… It's not like any of them could judge. Mona killed Bethany and Charlotte. Emily killed that stalker named Nate. Aria killed Shana. And she had killed Archer.

She turned to Mona and said, "Hit with a shovel? You mean, like how Bethany Young was murdered?"

Mona shot Hanna a knowing look. "Exactly."

Hanna sighed. Everything was about to get all convoluted and mixed up again. Yet, as she felt before, it was normal. At least, it was normal to her. She didn't know if her friends felt the same, and she was too afraid to ask. They would think she was weird or that she was officially bonkers.

"Hanna," Mona broke her short reverie, "I know I asked you to lunch, but I lied."

"What?" Hanna was confused, but it didn't take much to confuse her sometimes.

Mona fidgeted a little before making eye contact with Hanna. "Look, I have to admit… I haven't been completely honest with you… or the other girls. And—" She looked around panicked for a moment, "I can't lie to you. Not this time. I won't risk it."

Hanna made a few strange expressions, before she finally exclaimed, "Mona, spit it out!"

Mona looked down at her hands. She had the expression of a sad puppy that was caught doing something it wasn't supposed to be. Finally, she looked up at Hanna, after a long moment of silence, before saying, "I came back to Rosewood because of Mary and Alex Drake—that was true. And I have been working on finding out who this anonymous person is. But… Listen, you're not going to be upset with me, are you?"

Hanna contemplated her question for a minute. It was true that her friendship with Mona was not the most stable, and it had its difficulties. But Mona had proved herself beyond measure at this point, and Hanna knew that Mona cared about her. She was loyal, even when she was wrong. She could almost completely disregard that time Mona hit her with a car (not that she would ever forget, _not really_ ).

"Mona, I trust you," Hanna answered seriously, "I know you have my best interests in mind."

Mona tried to hide it, but Hanna saw her face light up with happiness. All she ever wanted was approval and to belong—somewhere, anywhere. Hanna smiled and took Mona's hand in hers as they still sat in her car in the Lost Woods parking lot. Mona gave Hanna a tentative smile back.

Then, her entire demeanor changed and she let go of Hanna's hand. Mona turned from Hanna's good, old best friend to determined and investigative Mona (or at least, that was how Hanna liked to think of her as—the others would say this was A team Mona).

"I'm taking you to my lair first."

* * *

 

Aria waited patiently as Ezra took her words in. She felt as if her insides were boiling with anticipation, but she waited nonetheless. Ezra, who had that same glassy and far-away expression he always wore when Aria had given him shocking news, was sitting across from her on their apartment loveseat. Aria had recanted the last few days to her husband—Mona's arrival, the A messages, everything she knew about and could mention. She had originally not wanted to tell him, but after consoling a soon-to-be-wed Emily, Aria had concluded that it never turned out well when she did not tell Ezra everything.

Slowly, but surely, Ezra found his words. "I-I… I can't believe this," he shook his head like a wet dog, "I thought we were passed this. I thought… I thought after that crazy Spencer 2.0 kidnapped me that this was the end."

Aria grabbed Ezra's hands in her own and said, "I know. Ezra, I know. I thought it was the end, too."

"W-what are we going to do?" He looked at Aria, flabbergasted.

Aria nearly collapsed with relief. His immediate reaction was to ask, "What are we going to do?" rather than leave her. He wasn't going to leave her. Without answering his question, Aria pulled him towards her and laid her lips on his passionately. Ezra pulled back.

"No," he pushed, "No. Aria, I mean it. What are we going to do?"

Aria bit her lip, feeling a little disappointment. "What can we do, Ezra? Just the same as we always do."

"Drown until someone miraculously comes in last minute with a life preserver?" Ezra shot back angrily, "No! Aria—we were about to file for adoption. We can't do that now!"

Aria opened her mouth and then closed it. She had felt relief much too soon. Dread replaced the feeling in milliseconds.

Ezra continued. He stood up, exclaiming, "My mother has been hounding me since the marriage about children and I finally got the courage to tell her about—about—you know. As soon as she found out, she got rampant—"

Aria's stomach sank. _Of course, Diane was rampant_ , she thought, _I cannot produce a proper Fitzgerald heir to her ritzy ditzy family_. And here Ezra was. He was raging about the marriage and his mother and her being infertile and now A being back. Aria was starting to see red, and her hands were beginning to shake. Dread turned to hurt and that transformed into bitter anger.

"And now, after she had researched nearly hundreds of adoption agencies and haunted me to the edges of the Earth," Ezra went on, "We have to put that off until we figure out who this new stalker is?"

Aria couldn't contain her anger now that Ezra had escalated himself to this point. She jumped out of the sofa and threw up her hands. They were both standing in the middle of the room, arguing.

"Something tells me you're not angry because of A!" She snapped.

"Yes, that is why I'm angry!" Ezra replied.

"Well, it's not like you weren't aware, Ezra! You knew what you were doing when you came into this relationship—a little too much," she sniped.

Ezra's mouth unhinged. They both knew what she was referencing—the book on Alison. She was referencing how Ezra met her and used her as an opportunity despite her being a minor. He did it all so he could write some book and maybe have a shot at being published.

Aria shook her head. Tears were falling down her eyes. "It's not like you didn't know. It's not like I didn't warn you, either. Full disclosure. I told you exactly who I was. I told you how my friends and I blinded a girl. I told you what happened in New York. I told you all about A and the game. I even told you about Archer freaking Dunhill and the rest of it. And before we got married, _I told you I couldn't have children_. So, this isn't news, okay, Ezra? You don't get to be this angry! I get to be this angry. This is my life. You get to be here by choice. I don't."

And with that, Aria grabbed her keys and stormed out of the apartment. She didn't turn back. She couldn't. Her face was inflamed and beat red. Tears were running down her cheeks, and she could barely make it to her car before she nearly lost control of her emotions.

Her fingers shook as she typed in a hasty SOS to Emily.

* * *

 

Emily's phone beeped, but she hadn't had much time to look at it. Grace and Lily were both shrieking at the top of their baby lungs, and she was running back and forth like a frantic woman until Toby managed to calm one down. The rest of her attention was on the other. They were out to lunch until the girls got too fussy, and Emily brought them to the car because the entire restaurant was glaring at her. She had thought going out to eat with Toby was a good idea, especially because she needed the distraction from the police that were currently investigating Alison. And although she wanted to be there for Alison, Ali had told her not to worry.

_Spencer and I have things under control, Em. Don't worry. It will all work out—it always does_.

But Grace and Lily had other plans for her nerves.

"There we go," Emily cooed to Grace. She was starting to calm down. Lily wiggled in Toby's arms.

"I really think it was just nap time," Toby smiled, rocking Lily back and forth. "Maybe we should bring them home and put them down for a little while."

"That would be best," Emily sighed, "But I think Ali said that the Rosewood P.D. were also going to be searching the houses on top of the Lost Woods."

"Seriously?" Toby's eyes widened, "Man, they've gotten more persistent since I left the force."

Emily gave Toby a look that said she totally agreed. She started putting the girls in their car seats. Once they were both strapped in, she turned to Toby, "Maybe I'll bring them to my mother's again. She loves having them at her house."

Toby nodded. They both got into the car and started towards their old street. Emily felt nostalgia as she headed to what used to be her home with Toby. She had missed his friendship. He was the only guy she had ever known that truly understood who she was and what she wanted without trying to change her. He understood her sexuality and accepted it. No other male had done that until Toby did. Not really, anyway.

"So how are things with you and Spencer?" Emily asked, trying to stir up some conversation. That, and she was generally curious about the two.

Toby fumbled a little bit. Emily picked up that the question had made him a little uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he answered, "There seems to be some space between us. It's like… one moment everything is the way it should be—the way we both want it to be. And the next second, we are both pulling away because of something, whether it be from the past or the current time… It's like we just can't get over what has happened. But we both want to, so we keep trying."

Emily nodded. She understood what Toby meant. A long time ago, she was in the same boat with Alison. When Alison came back from the dead, they had moments together. And even though they both had acknowledged their feelings for each other, they weren't able to erase the space between the two. It wasn't until they both had changed and evolved that they were really able to fall back into each other officially.

After a few moments, she replied to Toby, "I have faith in you two. I always liked you guys together. Even at the start, I could see it in Spencer's eyes. You fascinated her. She went from judging and despising you to wanting to unpuzzle and understand you. She was mesmerized. And I know it's tough right now, especially after what her sister did to you guys, but I think you'll figure it out. You just need some time to heal those wounds."

"I'd like to think so," Toby smiled at Emily. He glanced behind them into the back seat, "Hey… They are sleeping."

Emily smiled back at Toby. Her little angels certainly had fallen asleep.

* * *

 

Mona was terrified. She was about to voluntarily allow Hanna into her lair, and even though this wasn't the first time, it was the most vulnerable time. She had invited Spencer on many occasions and the girls as a group, too, but she had never brought Hanna singularly into her lair. She didn't know what kind of reaction Hanna was going to give her, especially after she told her everything.

She brought Hanna into a small basement apartment she had not far from the center of Rosewood. Inside, her general pictures and documents were scrambled across the walls. A new dollhouse sat on one of her tables. A map of the town, the board games, the deaths, articles, and so much more were littered everywhere. Creepy dolls from her doll shop were scattered throughout the corners of the dark room. Her computers hummed in the corner, facing outward so she could see every entrance and corner from her chair.

Mona closed the door behind her. She watched quietly as Hanna walked around the room slowly. She resisted the urge to bite her fingernails anxiously. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Hanna turned to her and asked, "Mona, why did you bring me here?"

Mona closed her eyes and then opened them. She took a deep breath and explained, "To tell you the truth."

Hanna waited rather impatiently before blurting, "Well, get on with it!"

Mona chose her words carefully, but she knew it was best just to get on with it as Hanna had said. All her anxiety and fear would be obliterated once she finally came clean.

"I am the original A. I started the game. These are things we hold true, but they are things that I hold dear. I am hellbent on ending the game on my terms, because I feel like I rightly own it. I wanted to belong, and Alison always made sure I was the outsider wanting in. Once you became my friend and Alison disappeared, things changed. But then Aria came back, and that dead girl came out of the ground. I lost you all over again, so I started with the messages and the attacks and the blackmail… But the first part isn't true. I'm not the _original A_. I am, but I am not."

"Mona, what are you talking about?" Hanna looked panicked. Her eyes darted around the room.

Mona continued, "I'm talking about before. Before Alison disappeared, she received A messages. Threats. They weren't me. I was obsessed with you guys, but I wanted Alison to accept me. I wanted her to choose me. I only wanted her gone after I realized that would never happen, but even then, I didn't want her dead. That's why I helped her fake her death at the Lost Woods Resort that night she was buried alive. I wanted her gone, because I wanted to replace her. But I didn't send those messages… And I didn't send your guys' first A messages either. I only started playing the game once Bethany's body, claimed to be Alison's, was unburied from the Dilaurentis backyard. The other messages—before the body was found—were someone else. They never revealed themselves or sent any messages after I took over and owned the game."

"I became your friend after changing from Loser Mona to Popular Mona. You were my friend, Hanna. But after the body of Bethany Young, I lost you to that clique of yours again. So that fueled my game. Only after a little while did I realize that I wasn't the only one who wanted to mess with you guys. I wasn't the only one playing. And it wasn't Charlotte… Charlotte didn't know about the game until I went to Radley—or so I thought. I'm not so sure of that now, but… The night that Spencer and I fought at lookout point. That wasn't random."

"Spencer was getting too close to things. I was supposed to make her disappear like Alison, but I didn't. I ended up in Radley. That's where I met Charlotte and she stole the game. But even then, Charlotte couldn't possibly have done everything she did alone—or even with Sara Harvey's help."

"For example, the lodge fire. Charlotte was coming in on the plane. I was inside the lodge with you, Aria, and Emily. Spencer and Toby were outside. Sara was distracting Spencer with the red coat and Alison mask and Toby was knocked out. Jenna and Shana supposedly were spying on us, but they didn't touch us. Charlotte thinks Shana started the fire, but I'm not so sure. Alison pulled some of us out, but someone else pulled the rest. But somehow, I feel like someone else was there—someone who wasn't accounted for. And of course, someone isn't telling the truth about what really happened that night."

"Little discrepancies like this are scattered everywhere in this little game of ours. There's always been someone else in the background. I don't even think they ever really got their hands that dirty, but they've been there. Manipulating from behind. The true puppet master. Not me, Charlotte, or Alex. How else would you explain some of Charlotte's actions? She stole the game from me, but she only ever wanted family. She went to London and found her sister—only to turn back to the game. That didn't feel right to me. Neither did how she revealed herself. She loved Alison, she loved Alex, and she wanted to find Mary. And she was _so_ obsessed with the game… So why was she willing to blow herself and Ali up in the Radley?"

"Little things here and there never quite added up. And now, Charlotte is dead and someone stole Mary and Alex Drake from my possession. I can't help but think it's this person from the beginning. They wrote 'They are my dolls now, bitch, and they always have been –A'. What else could that mean?"

Mona took a breath. She knew she was giving Hanna a lot to take in. But to her pleasant surprise, Hanna didn't look angry. She looked… relieved.

Hanna twirled a strand of her blonde hair in-between her fingers and rested one hand on her small baby bump. She slowly sat in Mona's chair and contemplated everything Mona had spit out. After what seemed like ages, Hanna said, "No, that makes sense. It all does. In a way. I mean, somehow nothing ever seemed right to me. I think… After all this time, I thought I missed this stuff."

Mona's eyes widened. Hanna continued, "But that wasn't true. I didn't miss this feeling of never being alone. I didn't miss being pigs to the slaughter. I just wasn't satisfied from the answers we have gotten. They haven't been answers at all, have they?"

"It's almost like they have been distractions," Mona suggested, "The perfect get-away."

Now things were moving. Mona felt her blood pump excitedly. Hanna wasn't upset so far, and they were really getting into the mystery of things. Perhaps they would finally, truly end the game for sure—and they would know the whole story.

"So, what do you have on them?" Hanna questioned, distracting Mona, "You said you were working to find out who they are. What do you have?"

Mona sighed heavily.

"I'm not done telling you my truth, Hanna."

* * *

 

Spencer glared at the Rosewood P.D. They had shifted their attention from the Lost Woods Resort to her and Alison's respected homes. Ali was next door with Lieutenant Tanner. Spencer was standing outside of her barn as Lorenzo lead the team that was needling her own possessions.

Melissa stepped out of the main house to join Spencer. Spencer had already told Melissa about the Addison Derringer case, so she knew her sister was not surprised when the Rosewood P.D. presented their warrant. And Melissa was not surprised at all, but she had been plenty annoyed. Spencer even witnessed her dig into a few officers who tried to go through her luggage—when Melissa had only arrived back in Rosewood a few days prior.

Spencer gave Melissa a pleading look. She half expected a passive-aggressive comment, but her and her sister had been getting along lately, so Melissa quietly put her arm around Spencer. She was willing to comfort a very anxious Spencer much to that anxious Spencer's surprise.

"You have nothing to hide," Melissa assured her, "This will all be over soon enough."

Spencer nodded, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. Melissa was right—she usually was. She didn't have anything to hide, and these searches were routine. Addison Derringer was a dead girl, after all. A murdered girl. And for once, Spencer was sure she had nothing to do with it.

* * *

 

When Alex woke up, she had felt like a heavy bag of bones. Something wasn't right, and she knew it. She felt groggy and stiff—and she was extremely thirsty. She was also laying on a mattress which was flat on the floor—no frame.

Sitting up slowly, she saw that her mum—who was still unconscious—was also sitting on a mattress on the floor without a frame. They were still in their tiny hole room somewhere underground. But their bed frames were gone.

_And so was her makeshift weapon._

"Bloody hell!" She cursed. It didn't take her long at all to figure out that their captor had gassed them to sleep before removing any contraband or possible weaponized substances from their underground holding cell. She was pissed. She was beyond pissed.

Alex started screaming uncontrollably. She was cursing and yelling belligerent phrases. She stood up abruptly and nearly made herself dizzy, but she persisted and started kicking the mattresses on the floor. Her mum was still conked out but breathing. She didn't stir all throughout Alex's tantrum.

After a while, she tired herself out. She plopped down on her mattress with her arms folded. All that work with the cheap metal had been for nothing. She sat and twiddled her thumbs for quite some time.

Time passed slowly. Or quickly. She didn't know. She thought about what she would have liked to do to the person who had put her and her mum in that place. She thought about what she would have liked to do to Mona or Spencer. But her thoughts slowly drifted back to Spencer altogether—as they always did since she had found out about her sister's existence. Even then, she found that she got bored thinking about living as Spencer right now.

_This is getting you nowhere, Alex_ , she told herself, _Come on. You can figure a way out of here if you don't just sit around fantasizing_.

A noise interrupted her thought process. It was the food slot. It had opened. Two trays of food were pushed through the hole. It was all usually finger food—nothing that required utensils. Usually, that was it, though. Usually, the food was slid into the room and the slot was closed. This time the slot remained opened, and Alex could see that in the flood of light from outside that someone was hovering by the door.

"Hello?" Alex spoke hoarsely, "Hello? Is there anyone there?" Her accent echoed off the mostly empty room walls.

The figure at the door shifted, as if the person were sitting down. They waited there for a long time. Alex slid towards the food slot, but she didn't get too close to it. She wouldn't risk getting hurt that easily.

"Listen to me," Alex spoke again hastily, growing angry again, "If you think you are going to get away with this, you are wrong. And if you think I'm going to be down here forever, you are even more wrong. And I swear… I swear, if this is Mona or Spencer, I swear—"

"Neither Mona or Spencer is smart enough," a voice said from the other side of the food slot, "Oh, Alex, even I'm not smart enough."

Alex listened as the familiar voice hit her ears like an explosion. It sounded sad and regretful, but it was her—no doubt in Alex's mind. She felt pain and happiness all in one go. There was no way, but it was her. It was her.

_It was her._

Alex gulped before she felt her voice come out in a low whisper, "…Charlotte?"

There was a pause and the sound of shuffling. "I have to go," Charlotte's voice rang through the food slot, "I only get a few minutes to feed you as a reward, and I'm not supposed to speak. If she finds out I spoke to you, she'd kill me."

"Charlotte!" Alex exclaimed in shock, "Wait!"

But the food slot slammed shut and she was gone. As if she had never been there.

_Charlotte._


	6. Nothing but the Fiery Truth

"Gosh, Mona," Hanna grumbled, "If you don't get on with it, I'm going to walk out of that door and call Welby."

Hanna watched Mona eye her warily. Her gut was already wrenching enough, but her interest was still piqued and she had to know what else Mona was going to admit. Whatever it was, Hanna kept telling herself she wasn't going to judge Mona. They had been through too much, and she had told Mona that she trusted her. There was no going back now.

Mona had been slowly pacing back and forth for some time. She was really working herself up as Hanna watched innocently from the chair she sat in. How bad could it be? The blonde wondered. Mona had done some horrendous things in the past, but so far, since she had returned to Rosewood, she had admitted to kidnapping Spencer's crazy relatives, she had brought news of a new A, and she had announced that perhaps this A has always been there. Could it really be any worse?

But even so, all of this made sense to Hanna. This was the crazy world she was used to living in despite its backwards and unlawful nature. This craziness and this paranoia was what Hanna thought was shockingly missing from her mundane life.

Finally, Mona turned to Hanna. Biting her lip and closing her eyes as if it would take her anywhere but there, Mona eventually said, "I didn't actually hit Bethany Young."

Hanna leaped out of her chair and placed her hands almost immediately on her small baby bump. She couldn't help but exclaim, "What?!"

Mona began to speak quickly but precisely, "I know that when we were in the Carisimi Group that I admitted to hitting Bethany in the back of the head because I thought she was Alison, but like I mentioned earlier, I never really wanted Ali dead. I was never in the Dilaurentis yard. I only found Alison after she was buried alive and I helped her at the Lost Woods. I didn't know who buried Alison, and I didn't know who hit Bethany. All I knew was that Melissa buried Bethany alive."

"Then why did you say you hit Bethany?" Hanna demanded, furious. She thought she was not going to judge Mona, but she couldn't help herself. Spencer had almost been arrested for Bethany's murder numerous times and had been taunted about it by A. In fact, most of the initial A games seemed to be taunting all the girls about the former Radley patient's sudden death. Charlotte was ultimately blamed for the murder of Bethany during her trial, but the girls had all thought Mona was the one who hit her and Melissa was the one who buried her. To hear otherwise gave Hanna a new sense of fear.

Hanna shook her head when Mona didn't answer. She hugged her belly bump closer to her, and to her surprise, she felt a new sense of worry for her unborn child. Perhaps she did not miss this way of life or the A game after all.

She watched Mona look down. She resembled a small child in trouble. Hanna truly questioned if Mona was ever truly in tune with reality. But she was Mona. She was a constant in Hanna's life, and Hanna knew she wasn't going anywhere. Still, Hanna had to say what she needed to say.

"We need to call the girls now."

* * *

 

Alison had wondered why Hanna sounded so urgent on the phone. In fact, she was incredibly irritated because she already had enough on her plate with the Addison Derringer investigation. Rosewood P.D. had searched the Lost Woods and her home earlier that day, and she didn't need to deal with a pregnant Hanna. She originally had no idea that those searches were just the tip of the iceberg.

When Mona was finished saying her piece, Alison noted that Emily and a curiously red-eyed and puffy Aria were gaping at Mona in shock. Hanna appeared a little smug, and Spencer was staring off into a world hidden behind her brown eyes. Alison watched Spencer for a moment rather than the others. She wondered if Spencer remembered anything from that night—the night that Bethany and she were both buried alive. She hoped she didn't.

Nevertheless, she worried for Spencer's state of mind. Within the last couple of years, Spencer had not only learned she was adopted, but she had learned that she was Alison's cousin, Charlotte's younger sister, and a twin. Now, in the last couple of weeks, Spencer had also learned that her biological mother and sister were kidnapped—twice—and that the real assailant of Bethany Young was unknown. In fact, Alison knew that Spencer was jumping to the assumption that she was the one at fault.

_Spencer always self-loathes_ , Alison thought. _She always assumes she's inherently horrible_. Alison knew this was because of the way the Hastings treated Spencer since she was younger. And that twisted her gut. She had spent a lot of time in the house of Hastings over the years. She knew about Jason, and she knew about some of the other horrible things that family did. It had always infuriated her how they treated Spencer. And Melissa never truly helped, either. Alison held sincere resentment towards Melissa. She had meant it when she told Spencer that she deserved a decent sister. _Hell_ , Alison mused. _That statement still holds true_.

Aria broke Alison out of her reverie when she said, in a cracked voice, "So… if this A is from before, and Mona didn't hit Bethany… Do you think this A knows who really hit Bethany?"

Alison watched as Hanna and Emily both shot instant looks towards Spencer. When Spencer looked up, they both immediately turned away. Alison diverted their attention by saying, "Yeah, they're probably the one who did it. I wouldn't be surprised, anyway."

Emily nodded, taking Alison's hands into her own. When they had received the call, Emily had left Toby and their twin girls at Grandma Pam's house. It seemed like they were pawning off their girls a lot in the last couple of weeks and Alison didn't like it, but she knew it was necessary. At least, until she knew they would be safe from this A.

Spencer remained silent, but Emily spoke up, "Thank you, Mona. Thank you for telling us the truth."

Alison bit back her grin. Her sweet Emily was always so genuine and kind.

Mona brightened up at Emily's small comment. Hanna touched her arm and gave her a warm smile. For once, the girls weren't icing Mona out. Honestly, Alison was tired of being mean to Mona. She knew it got them nowhere, and Mona had proven her loyalty to Alison far more than the other girls had at this point. But Spencer still hadn't said anything.

Hanna spoke next. "We need an action plan," she announced. Turning to their best boss, she continued, "Spence? Any ideas?"

Spencer snapped out of whatever zone she was in and turned to the others. "Oh, um," she stuttered out, "Well, we don't really have any ground points here. We haven't the slightest clue as to where to look to find Mary and Alex—"

"If they're alive," Hanna shot out.

"Hanna!" Emily snapped.

"Well, it's not like they would be missed!"

"Hanna!" Aria and Emily shouted together this time.

Mona chuckled under her breath, but Alison was still watching her cousin. She trailed on as if she hadn't heard the girls, "—And all we have for an A list is Jenna, Lucas, and Melissa."

"Well, have we also explored the idea that maybe this is Alex, pretending to have been kidnapped?" Mona wondered.

At the same time, Hanna spat out, "Wait, you're considering Melissa now?"

Sighing, Spencer explained, "Hearing that Mona didn't hit Bethany… Well, Melissa is the one who buried her alive, or so she says at this point. And Melissa was present that night. She saw Alison and I argue, and she was looking for someone. Jason also saw her speaking to a blonde that he originally thought was Charlotte, but Charlotte said it was Bethany. Logically speaking, I can't rule her out."

Mona nodded in agreement, but she still pressed, "Well, what about my theory about Alex?"

"I don't think that would work," Alison brainstormed herself, "Alex wanted Spencer's life. Don't you think she would try to do the same over again?"

"That being true," Spencer replied coldly, "She failed the first time and her rate of success would be severely lowered in a second attempt. The only way she would truly be successful is if she had removed Mona entirely, but Mona is here. And, well, I'm Spencer. Scouts honor."

The girls giggled nervously. There was a long stretch of silence after. Neither one had any idea of how to approach the game—except maybe Mona, but she wasn't sharing any ideas. Once again, they were clueless. Alison felt that they each must have known something deep down, but it had been so long since that night. Perhaps, if she went through her sequence of events from memory again… Perhaps, if she had been fully honest with the girls… With Spencer.

But she knew better. She could never actually tell Spencer the whole truth—not really. Spencer would fall apart if she knew everything. She had to protect Spencer. She owed it to Spence—she owed more to Spence than any of the other girls.

* * *

 

"So, we are still where we started," Aria sighed, drained. She looked at each of her friends' faces. They all had the same amusement, determination, fear, and concern that was on her own face. It was getting old, but somehow, they knew this was the last mystery to be solved. At least, Aria hoped it was. Her fight with Ezra was still on her mind, and she didn't know if Ezra was going to be able to handle another A. She didn't even know if she was going to be able to handle another one.

Mona nodded, "We are all at the same point. Even me."

"I don't think there is anything we can do," Alison said, "Except wait it out until we get some clues. Spence and I need to make sure that we don't get falsely accused of Addison's murder, but none of you are involved with that."

"Mona should keep looking into Mary and Alex," Spencer stood up, folding her arms in a vulnerable way, "Ali and I will use this murder investigation to our advantage. We will see if this Addison thing is related at all, especially because she was hit similarly to Bethany with a shovel."

"I'll do what I can to help Mona," Hanna put in.

Aria didn't say anything, and neither did Emily. She gave Emily a sideways look. Emily caught her eye, and she spotted some guilt in her friend's facial expression. Emily didn't respond to her SOS earlier, and Aria knew she felt bad about it.

Emily turned from Aria and addressed the group, "Maybe Aria and I will take a look at some of the earlier A messages that Mona said weren't her and compare it to any new ones we have received. Maybe we can even take a look at some of the ones from Mona, Charlotte, and Alex to see if there are any patterns. I'm sure you have an archive, Mona."

"If she doesn't, I do," Spencer admitted. Aria and the rest of the girls turned to her in surprise. Spencer bit her lip shyly before explaining, "I still have a lot of stuff… I kept Melissa's confession, a lot of the A stuff left over from the lairs, and even some of Alex and Charlotte's personal possessions. I was trying to make sense of a lot of loose ends."

"Wow," Hanna's eyes widened, "And we thought Mona was the addict."

"Where is it all?" Aria questioned. She was generally curious.

Spencer didn't answer her at first, but she hesitantly replied, "Toby's house. In the bunker. You know, the one that—"

"Your batshit crazy sister held you hostage in?" Ali let out. Aria watched Spencer shoot Alison a harsh look. Alison gave her one right back, but Spencer simply nodded.

"Alright," Aria interrupted the two girls. She didn't want them to argue like they used to when they were younger. In fact, she preferred when Spencer and Alison were getting along. If they weren't, it was usually detrimental to their friend group. It also drove Aria insane to pick sides even though she often sided with Spencer. "Emily and I will go through everything and try to dig up clues."

And just like that, they had some resemblance of a plan. Aria hoped they would find something. She was positive her marriage depended on it.

* * *

 

After an insane meeting in Mona's lair, Spencer was happy to arrive home. She had to run a few errands beforehand, but she finished them quickly after seeing the girls. And thankfully, the Rosewood P.D. were done heckling her for the day.

Spencer walked into the main house and grabbed herself a small glass of wine. She was still feeling a little winded from the last few days' drinking escapades. She was trying to take it easy on herself, and she didn't want anyone to assume she was developing a problem with alcohol. The last thing she needed was another trip to rehab.

"I didn't hear you come home." Melissa walked down the stairs and into the living room. Spencer nearly jumped out of her skin because she didn't know Melissa was right there. Melissa gave her a mischievous grin and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Somehow, Spencer didn't believe her. Melissa _loved_ to scare Spencer when she was younger.

"I just got in," Spencer replied. She was still on edge from earlier, and she honestly didn't know if Melissa knew more than she had told over the years. Seeing her sister made her nervous.

"Are you hungry?" Melissa walked around her and started opening cabinets, "I can make us some dinner."

"Yeah, sure. I'm starving." Spencer smiled at her older sister despite her fears. She and Melissa had been getting along for some time now, but she still wasn't used to it. She kept expecting it to fall through or for herself to ruin it. Somehow, she always seemed to do something to ruin her relationship with Melissa. This time, though, their loving truce seemed to be lasting. And after Charlotte and Alex, Spencer _needed_ her relationship with Melissa to last. And so, she also needed Melissa to not be involved with this A game.

Melissa put some chicken on the stove to boil and turned her attention to throwing together a salad. She eyed Spencer for a moment before asking, "So did the Rosewood P.D. end up finding anything interesting in their search?"

"If they did, they haven't revealed it." Spencer sipped her wine, but she started to pull out some dishes and silverware.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Melissa remarked, "But I can't say the same for Alison. Who knows what that girl is still capable of." Spencer heard Melissa's absolute resentment when she said Alison's name. After all this time, Melissa still could not stand Spencer's cousin.

"She's different from how she used to be."

Melissa snorted. She continued to boil the chicken once she had assembled their salad and she said, "Yeah, she got better at pretending."

Spencer didn't bother refuting Melissa's statement. She knew it would simply start an argument, and she didn't want that. Instead, she stayed silent as she put some salad in bowls, and she contemplated how to figure out if Melissa knew more about that night with Bethany. It was always a touchy subject to bring up since Melissa had confessed to burying Bethany alive. In the meantime, she also watched her sister finish boiling the chicken. She cut some up to put in their salads. She poured herself a glass of wine and joined Spencer at their kitchen island. All the while, Spencer had built up a significant amount of anxiety in trying to figure out if Melissa had a part in this miserable game like Hanna insisted she did.

But before they could sit down and enjoy their meal together, Melissa's phone, which was sitting on the counter, began to ring. Spencer glanced at the caller ID, but she didn't recognize the phone number. Melissa immediately snatched the phone out of her view and said, hurriedly, "I need to take this."

Briskly, Melissa strolled into the other room to take the call. Following a hunch, Spencer tentatively followed behind and put her ear to the doorway into the hall. She could barely hear Melissa, but she made out some key words.

"— _Charlotte_ —"

"— _Dollhouse_ —"

"— _Spencer can never find out_."

Suddenly, Spencer wasn't very hungry anymore.

* * *

 

Alex had been counting the seconds until dinner time. She could not wait until the food slot opened again. In fact, she never even looked away from the slot in her tiny cell. Her obsession with the small opening was beyond what it had previously been when she had the makeshift sharp weapon.

_Charlotte. Charlotte. Charlotte._ Her older sister was all she could think of since she had heard her voice on the other side of the door. _She's not dead_.

Mary had awoken by now, and Alex had filled her in on her experiences when her mother was still unconscious. She didn't know why she had told Mary, but she had been so excited she could not contain herself. And Mary had perked up considerably since Alex had mentioned it (even though, Mary notably had denied Alex's claims at first).

Both of their sanities were focused entirely on the food slot and Charlotte. So, when the slot finally opened, both Alex and Mary jumped to the ground and leaned toward it.

Mary said nothing, so Alex took the lead. Hesitantly, she greeted, "Charlotte?" A couple food trays slid into the slot, but the person on the other side shuffled. After a moment, her voice came through the slot.

"Alex," she breathed, "I told you I shouldn't be talking to you. Please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Charlotte, wait!" Mary spoke up. That caught her attention.

From the other side of the slot, Charlotte said, "…Mom?"

Mary closed her eyes and clutched her chest. "Oh, my baby."

Alex rolled her eyes bitterly. _I'm supposed to be her baby, too_ , she thought. _What makes Charlotte and Spencer so special? Why was she the one tossed to the side?_

Disregarding her anger, Alex spoke to Charlotte again, "Charlotte, what's going on? Can you tell us anything?"

There was a long pause of silence. Charlotte seemed to be contemplating whether to speak to Alex, and Alex was hoping for anything. If Charlotte was on the other side of that door, maybe she could get them out. Maybe there was hope that they could be a family again.

After a while, Charlotte finally explained, "The person keeping you here found out that Mona had taken you. They wanted Mona back in Rosewood, but they didn't want you or Mary running amuck. So, they took you. They put you here. This is the same place they originally put me a year ago—the night I was released from Welby."

"But Mona said she killed you," Alex pointed out.

"Mona thought she killed me," Charlotte laughed on the other side, "But poor Loser Mona was so freaked out. She pushed me into the wall and threw me off the bell tower at the church. Kudos to her—I didn't think she had it in her. But the crack in my neck that she heard was just a small fracture. She didn't kill me, and I survived the fall. She shouldn't be surprised either. That bitch fell off a cliff and didn't even break a bone."

"And the body at your funeral?" Mary wondered.

"I'm sure you know better, _mom_ ," Charlotte said, emphasizing the word, "That body was a fake. I took the same drugs I fed the Dilaurentis boys as well as Mona back in the day. I stayed paralyzed and dead-looking until the medicine wore off, and I left the morgue, leaving a lifelike doll body behind. I did the exact same as when I faked Toby Cavanaugh's death as well as when I faked Mona's death. Except when I left the morgue, someone was waiting for me. I woke up in the very cell you are in now. I've gained privileges since then."

"What types of privileges?" Alex demanded. Perhaps Charlotte really could get them out.

"First, she let me out of the cell. I could roam outside, but I don't get to go to the surface. We are underground, and there are more locks and such beyond your guys' room. And now that you are here, I am allowed to feed you but not interact with you any other way. But my favorite privilege… I get to watch the girls. She has these amazing surveillance cameras hidden in all of the girls' houses and cars and jobs, and I get to see everything!" Alex could practically taste Charlotte's excitement towards the end. She sure loved her dolls, even now.

After a moment, Mary—who seemed to be on the same wavelength as Alex—spoke, "Charlotte… Honey… Is there any way you could get us all out of here?"

Alex practically felt her sister's audible sigh on the other side of the door. She pictured her sister. In her mind, Charlotte wasn't wearing her brunette wig. Her long, wavy blonde hair was flowing around her shoulders and she was dolled up in makeup and the best designer clothes Alex could imagine. She would do anything to see Charlotte again. Hearing her voice was not enough.

Eventually, her big sister said, "It's not implausible. She comes and goes at random, but she always carries key cards on her. I learned which was which when she took your bed frames out. If I can swipe your cell's key card, I could get you out. And I could maybe swipe the master card or we could duplicate and figure a way out from there."

_Yes!_ Alex thought. Then, she heard Charlotte scuffle quickly. "I have to go. I think she is here."

"Charlotte, wait," Alex rushed, "Can you tell us who she is?!"

Charlotte spat out a name hastily. Alex's eyes widened in surprise. It certainly wasn't who she expected.

* * *

 

Mona had spent most of the afternoon with Hanna. Rather than getting any further with her personal investigation, she had to spend most of that time explaining in a frustratingly slow manner all her accumulated knowledge on the new A to Hanna. And, despite how long it took to explain, Mona didn't have much. All she had accumulated from the scene in her former dollhouse in France was a few handprints of leather glove patterns and a couple of hair follicles. There was nothing else. The blood red A message had just been paint.

And even after Hanna and her would depart, Mona knew she was going to go back to work. She was already analyzing previous A messages and loose ends much like Emily had suggested she and Aria would. If she could piece anything together, she could figure out some form of lead.

So, after dropping Hanna off, Mona went straight back to her lair instead of her room at the Lost Woods Resort. She was not expecting her lair to look the way it did, for it was not the way she had left it.

Upon entering the basement room, Mona found most of her possessions and documents flung on the floor. Her computer was smashed to bits and her walls were stripped bare. Her new dollhouse was broken on the floor, and her dolls were all torn apart—limb from limb. Some liquid was poured all over the papers on the floor, and the room reeked of an unpleasant stench. Painted in the same big, red letters as in her dollhouse overseas was a message:

_Remember, Loser: Snitching bitches get stitches. I should have let you burn in that lodge. –A_

Mona sucked in her breath sharply. It didn't take her long to make a connection between the strong odor and the A message. When she did, her eyes widened and she whipped around towards the door. But it was already too late. A hooded black figure stood in the doorway with a lit match. They flung it to the ground and watched as Mona's lair lit up with flames. Then they slammed and locked the door with Mona still in it.

_Shit_ , Mona thought.


	7. Crime Scenes, Shovels, and Sheds, Oh My!

_A few days later_

Spencer knew that Melissa wasn’t going to be back for a few hours—she had gone out for lunch with their mother—and she also knew her father had not been to their home in months. Nonetheless, she went through Melissa’s possessions in a hurried manner. She knew she had to be precise, for if there was anyone more anal and organized than herself, it was Melissa.

Spencer went through books and papers to no avail. She knew that the juicy stuff was most likely on Melissa’s laptop, but she couldn’t crack her password. She was going to need Caleb’s handy dandy hacking skills. Even so, she didn’t want it to seem obvious that she was snooping around her sister, and her sister would notice if her laptop was gone for any amount of time. Her phone was even more difficult to snag. Still, Spencer needed to look. Melissa’s involvement with the A game and Spencer’s friends was a mystery that was gnawing at Spencer, especially since the phone call she had overheard. What could her sister possibly have to do with the dollhouse and why could Spencer never know about it?

_Please_ , Spencer pleaded in her own thoughts, _Please not my big sister_.

“Find anything devilishly good?” Spencer nearly jumped out of her skin. She slammed one of Melissa’s books shut and spun around to see Alison standing in her family home’s hallway. She had a mischievous grin on and a twinkle in her eye that shot Spencer straight back into ninth grade.

“Oh, don’t act like you weren’t sleuthing, Velma,” Alison snickered, waltzing into Melissa’s room, “Just let me know if you find anything worthy of my interests.” She tilted one of Melissa’s papers towards her and raised her eyebrows.

Spencer glanced at her watch. No, she had timed it correctly. Alison was just early and had let herself in. They had plans to go to the Lost Woods together and to check out the premises now that the Rosewood P.D. had gone in with a fine-tuned comb.

“We should get going,” Spencer spoke sharply. She pulled Alison by the wrist and lead her down the stairs to the living room. The last thing she needed was Alison in Melissa’s things. Her sister and her cousin almost never got along.

“Oh, come on,” Alison said snidely, “I’m sure there’s something you overlooked. I know how you like to defend dear Maleficent herself.”

“We aren’t in a Disney movie, Ali,” Spencer shot at her and then muttered under her breath, “More like Gossip Girl meets How to Get Away with Murder.”

Alison huffed but Spencer ignored her. Even though her cousin had done a complete turnaround from when they were teenagers, she still had her moments. Just as Spencer still had her own. They were both gluttons for punishment at times.

In fact, as they walked out to the car with their heels clacking on the asphalt and their purses riding on their hips, Jenna Marshall’s words whispered into Spencer’s ears once more, like a warning gust of wind.

_You can take the mean girl out of high school, but you can’t take the mean out of the girl._

* * *

 

“I’m telling you, Caleb,” Hanna exasperated, “This is weird, even for Mona!”

“Look,” Caleb grumbled, “I’m sure you might be right, but Mona is unpredictable. She could have easily gone off on her own like she did last time. And the time before that. _And the time before that_.”

The married couple had left Mona’s unperturbed motel room, which they had visited that morning, and were now walking through the town of Rosewood towards her lair. It was a warm day, and the walk shouldn’t have bothered anyone their age, but it was draining on Hanna. She was regretting wearing heels for the first time in her life. She tried to ignore the slight swelling in her feet from her ever-growing pregnant state, but ignoring the issue wasn’t making her move any less sluggishly.

“This time is different,” Hanna pushed, “She admitted the Bethany thing and the uber-uber A thing—”

“I’m not sure that’s how you would say it—”

“And she had made plans to work with me,” Hanna snapped, interrupting Caleb as he was interrupting her, “She wouldn’t make plans with me and then disappear without a word. I’m sure by now she’s proven that I mean more to her than that.”

Caleb sighed. He took Hanna’s hand as they walked and brought it to his lips. Her wedding ring fit into the circular shape of his mouth as he kissed her fingers gently. Hanna paused in her walk and faced him, shivering at his touch and how much she loved it. He looked into her eyes, and she saw all of the love and support she needed as an adult and all of the exciting rebelliousness that she had craved when they were teenagers.

“You’re right, Han,” her husband said, “As much as I hate to say it, Mona loves you. She loves you in a borderline obsessive crazy maniac way, but she loves you. And when we find her— _and we will find her_ —I will make sure she doesn’t pull anymore disappearing acts even if I have to spend every waking moment with her.”

Knowing how much Caleb disliked Mona, Hanna knew that he was serious. She bit her lip and blurt out, “You would do that? For me?”

“I’d do anything for you, babe,” Caleb smiled, “And that includes stalking the incarnation of that Devil Wears Prada demonic woman.”

“Miranda Priestly,” Hanna rolled her eyes, “The character’s name was Miranda Priestly. And she wasn’t a demonic woman. She was a goddess and my role model for half of junior year.”

“Of course, she was,” Caleb laughed. Hanna smiled as she listened to him chuckle. She leaned into her husband and touched her stomach. She hoped that the infant growing inside her was a baby Caleb. _He would grow up to be such a cutie_ , Hanna mused.

And so, they continued their walk until they reached the building that Mona’s lair was in. But upon entering the front hall, Hanna and Caleb were both smacked in the face with a putrid smell of something burnt. The lingering scent of fire and smoke set the married lovebirds on high alert. They both descended three steps at a time, which was, in retrospect, probably not a safe idea for Hanna.

Hanna nearly slammed into Caleb full force as they reached the bottom. Without even thinking, she shoved her husband out of the way to look ahead. Mona’s basement lair door was broken down and there was caution tape stripped across it. A notice was on the wall next to it and it clearly stated:

_Crime Scene: Do not enter. The Rosewood Police Department will apprehend any trespassers and charge offenders with contamination of evidence._

Hanna leapt to step through the tape, but Caleb grabbed her arm and held her back. She turned to protest, but Caleb’s eyes flitted to her rounding baby bump and back up. He held a warning in his gaze. Hanna got the message loud and clear. She couldn’t incriminate herself for the sake of her future child. Immediately, Hanna thought, _Gosh, how did Alison help them bury and unbury graves while pregnant and scared for her child’s future? That must have been awful._

Turning back to the scene, Hanna took out her phone and shined a flashlight into Mona’s basement lair. The entire room was torched, but it had a dark and eerie image to it. The walls were burnt and busted in, the floor and its accompanying artifacts were smothered black, ashes scattered across the entire room, and half deformed dolls were lying everywhere. Mona’s papers and photographs were unintelligible. Almost everything that served as evidence that the room was Mona’s lair was destroyed.

Hanna gulped. She didn’t want to ask the question, but she knew she had to.

“Where’s Mona?”

Right on cue, Hanna’s phone chimed. She cringed at the sound, but she opened the message:

_Poor Mona, always sniffing where her nose doesn’t belong. Kisses! –A_

“Oh, my God.”

* * *

 

Aria and Emily had been sifting through A messages for hours. The only breaks they had taken were to care for the twins—feeding them, changing them, and finally putting them down for a much-needed nap. After all that work, Aria felt like she needed a nap herself. Parenting wasn’t easy and she was finding it hard to concentrate on the messages and any distinguishing patterns between the different As—mostly because of parental exhaustion, but also because of her and Ezra not speaking. In fact, they had not spoken at all since their argument, but that was not the worrying part. The worrying part was that Aria was still angry.

That’s why she didn’t object at all when Emily suggested that they study the A messages at the Dilaurentis house. Emily had said it was more convenient because Alison was going to the Lost Woods Resort with Spencer and she was left with the twin babies, but Aria saw it as the perfect escape from the silent treatment given by her hurt husband.

But now, even sitting at the Dilaurentis house with the business of a growing family surrounding her, Aria couldn’t help but think about Ezra, about not being able to have children, and about the A game. It probably didn’t help that they had gotten to the messages centered around Ezra and his book—all the A messages sent to torment a pill-popping Spencer.

“Oh my God, these are horrible,” Emily murmured as she clicked through the A messages and pictures that Mona and Spencer had both contributed to a few days before, “And these were sent by Charlotte? Do we know if she knew Spencer was her sister then?”

“I don’t know,” Aria said numbly, her eyes flitting from her own screen and to Emily, “Spencer said that Charlotte knew they were sisters when we were in the dollhouse, but she isn’t quite sure when she found out.”

“I just… The things that Charlotte did to Spencer,” Emily said in shock, “And to Alison.”

“And to us.”

“I can’t even begin to understand,” Emily sat back on her part of the sofa. They had made the Dilaurentis living room their home base for the day. “Or to even justify how someone could do such horrible things… And for their own personal desire. How could you intentionally do such a selfish thing while knowing you were causing someone pain?”

A pit dropped in Aria’s stomach. Her thoughts went back to that time—the time when Spencer was a wreck (again). Her best friend had been concerned about her, but she had also been driving herself crazy with addiction. Aria herself had felt bad for how she handled Spencer’s issues. She had iced her out, but it had been for naught anyway. Even though Spencer was not a hundred percent correct on Ezra being A, she did uncover a secret that Ezra was holding.

Aria tried to word what she wanted to say carefully. She gave Emily a steady—maybe somewhat shaky—gaze and asked, “How you feel about what Charlotte did… Do you think that’s applicable…? I mean, the causing pain for personal desire… Do you think Ezra is just as bad as Charlotte for stalking us and using us to write a book about Ali?”

Aria watched as Emily grew confused but eventually understood what the tiny girl was getting at. After what seemed like an unusually long time, Emily asked a question in return, “Does this have anything to do with the fight you guys had the other day?”

Aria nodded slightly. She wondered if Emily had even picked up that she had nodded at all. Another beat passed, and Aria grew nervous but curious.

“Well, how do you feel about what Ezra did?” Emily inquired. She gave Aria the knowing looks she gets on her face when she looks right through the outer façade one puts up. Emily had this way of seeing right through people.

“You know how I felt,” Aria rolled her eyes, “I cried. Waterfalls. I went on a college trip and got wasted. I had one-night stand after one-night stand. I trashed his apartment, and I all but fell apart.”

“And then Ezra stalked us again,” Emily noted, glancing at the ceiling, “And Shauna shot him. And suddenly, you weren’t angry anymore. And Alison told you to give him another chance. And you did.”

“She told me he was one of the good ones,” Aria said slowly, “And I believed her. And nothing has changed since… Except for when we broke up and he dated Nicole.”

“One of the good ones,” Emily smiled, but her smile faded quickly, “Is he one of the good ones because he took a bullet for you? Or because he used that sacrifice to blacken out what he did to you and to us?”

Aria didn’t say anything. Ezra did get shot, and the book thing barely came up after he did. It never came up again that he had sought her out, knowing she was a minor and pretending he didn’t know she was a minor. It never came up again that he intentionally started a romantic endeavor with her to get closer to her. Or that he intentionally lead her on to learn her and her friends’ secrets. Or that he followed them. He took pictures of them and collected evidence on them. _And it washed away like nothing because he nearly died trying to help her and her friends._

But does that make it okay? He hurt her, and he did so in a selfish manner. Was he really any different from Charlotte?

The front door opening took Aria’s attention. Much to her surprise, Jason Dilaurentis came bolting into the room. His outgrown and long hair whipped around his long, masculine face. He still hadn’t shaved his beard, but he did clean it up a bit. His bright and clear eyes fell on Aria, and she felt something in her that she wanted to stomp deep, deep, deep down. It was the same forbidden feelings she always had for Jason—from the beginning. The same ones she had seeing Alison’s older brother during sleepovers, the same ones that matured when Jason moved back to Rosewood after Alison’s disappearance, and the very same ones that bubbled over when the two had slept together on multiple occasions.

“Sorry,” Jason said slowly, “I didn’t mean to come in so abruptly.”

“Well, you didn’t wake up the girls,” Emily said nonchalantly, closing both her laptop and Aria’s and putting them on the coffee table, “So I won’t have to kill you… today.”

Jason smiled, “I actually came to visit them. I’m spending a few days in Philly between flights before I go to Ethiopia again. And I had some spare time, so I figured I would come see my family.”

“Well, of course! You missed Ali, but you’re welcome here anytime,” Emily stood, stretching, “I mean, you still technically own half of this house. You know you don’t have to stay in Philly.”

Jason looked from Emily to Aria. His facial expression told her that there were reasons he stayed in Philly and not Rosewood. She assumed they had a lot to do with how they both had left things off the last time he left—her telling him she was marrying Ezra and them continuing to try and ignore the electricity between them.

Emily’s phone began to ring right on cue. She checked the caller ID, hastily said, “It’s Alison,” and walked into the other room to answer the phone.

Aria and Jason looked at each other for a bit before Aria awkwardly said, “So… how’s the charity going?”

“Good,” Jason immediately brightened with a boyishly handsome and genuine smile, “I’m getting more and more donations and volunteers. Toby’s been a great help so far. Yeah, it’s been good… I’m just happy to be able to help people who need it… To not feel helpless.”

Something stirred in the air and Aria looked away from Jason. She knew he was thinking about when they were younger. He had been the older brother who was too drunk to save his sister. Then, he was the outsider who was too outside to save the pretty girls who were going to suffer the same fate as his sister. And finally, he was just the outsider looking in hopelessly. It made sense that he wanted to help others, and she was happy he was finally able to do it. He had tried so hard to help her in the past but was unable to.

_Jason was definitely one of the good ones._

* * *

 

“Ali,” Emily breathed into the phone, “Hi.”

“I can’t believe it’s only been a few hours, but I missed the sound of your voice,” Alison said through the phone. Emily felt her chest pump hard. She had missed the sound of Alison’s voice, as well.

“Is that the only reason you called?” The smile in Emily’s voice was hard to hide. She leaned against the kitchen counter, only a room away from Jason and Aria, but even so, she kept her voice low.

“I wish it was,” Alison said, “But the reason I called… Spence and I got to the Lost Woods. Rosewood P.D. really went at it, this time. They went through everything. They even dug up the beach area by the lake and different parts of the terrain. Spence is already calling up landscaping companies to come fix the place up.”

“That’s going to cost a lot of money,” Emily bit her lip, thinking about finances, “The town should compensate you both for that. And for loss of business.”

“A murder happened on our property,” Alison sighed, “And we are who we are. So, I’m assuming that means we must make sure we aren’t prime suspects first before we can argue about compensation. But don’t worry, Em. Spence said she’d cover the costs.”

“I’m sure she can with that Hastings money,” Emily scoffed, envious.

“I’ll tell her you said that, sassy,” Alison purred before stating in a serious tone, “Well, that’s not the only thing, though. Rosewood Police also took our guest book days ago when they began their investigation, but they returned the book after making photocopies. We have the guest list from the night that they believe Addison was killed—the same night that we found out about Spencer’s twin. We didn’t think anything of it, but Jenna Marshall had booked a room at the Lost Woods. Spence and I originally thought it was because she knew that Spence had been replaced—and she was hiding. But…”

“You think she had something to do with Addison’s disappearance?” Emily stood up straight, “I mean, they did have that argument in the hallway when Jenna called Addison a bitch. Which, by the way, was just as unprofessional as me blackmailing the little brat.”

“I can’t say for sure,” Alison answered, “But Lucas Gottesman also booked a room with us that night. He told us the Radley was booked through and through, but thinking back… Lucas has too much money to be turned away by the Radley Hotel.”

“Why would he stay at the Lost Woods?” Emily wondered.

“That’s what we are going to try and find out,” Alison replied, “And if it has anything to do with this A.”

“Be careful,” Emily warned. She was worried about her future wife. She couldn’t help it.

“It’s not like I’m doing this alone, Em,” Alison whined, “I have Spencer. I trust her with my life. But, I got to go. Give Lily and Grace kisses for me. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” And she really did. She loved Alison wholeheartedly. Which is also why she didn’t stop worrying.

* * *

 

Alison put her phone in her bag and walked back into the Lost Woods Resort’s lobby. Spencer was sitting at the front desk. She was still calling different landscapers for quotes. Alison approached her, and Spencer looked up from the desk.

Ali mouthed, “I’m going to go take pictures of the mess for the landscapers.”

Spencer nodded in agreement, and Alison went outside. The beach was no longer a swimmable area thanks to the Rosewood P.D. They had torn up most of the sand and dirt by the lake with the cranes and vehicles they used to investigate the water. They had also dug into several areas around the property using a metal detector to find the shovel. They hadn’t found the murder weapon, but they told the Alison and Spencer they no longer thought the weapon was on the premises.

“Schmucks,” Alison murmured as she pulled out her phone to take pictures. She wandered around the large yard area for a few minutes, just taking photos of the damages that needed to be repaired. Eventually, she found herself near the shed that held most of the grounds keeping tools. To her surprise, the lock on the shed door was cut.

_Did the Rosewood P.D. cut the lock?_ Alison questioned, _But I thought we had given them the master key set for the motel?_

Ali pushed the creaky shed door open and stepped inside. Most of the tools had been returned to where they originally were before the police investigation. Apparently, they hadn’t found any shovels in the shed that tested positive for blood spatter or lake water. She peeked around to see if anything was stolen or not returned when the door to the shed slammed shut and she was surrounded by darkness.

She spun around and went towards the door—to find that it was jammed shut. She banged loudly as she heard heavy footsteps stomping around outside of the shed. She knew how this went. She wasn’t a foreigner to the situation. Every A always enjoyed locking the girls in small spaces. That’s why, as Alison was banging on the door in hopes that Spencer or someone would come for her, she picked up a sharp gardening tool she felt around for in the darkness. She held it in her right hand like a weapon as she slammed the shed door with her left hand. Her breath shortened as she became more anxious and helpless to the situation.

The sound of remote splashing reached her ears through her own banging. What the hell? Alison thought. An irritating but familiar tapping noise replaced the sloshing sound. Alison stopped banging on the door. She listened as there was a series of small bangs and knockings. Eventually, as if someone had struggled with it, the door to the shed opened. Alison pushed out of the door with her gardening tool in hand and came nose to nose with Jenna Marshall. She was dressed all in black for a warm day, and she was wearing her trademark sunglasses. Underneath the sunglasses were very clear bandages on her eyes.

“Alison?” Jenna smiled wickedly, “What an unusual place for you to be… just hanging out.”

“Did you lock me in here?!” Alison demanded, jerking away from the blind girl that always gave her the creeps. Jenna always unnerved her. She had haunted Alison’s nightmares since she was blinded. Alison wondered if it was misplaced guilt for what she did to the girl.

“Me? A blind girl?” Jenna snickered, “Oh, Alison, you still have a wild imagination. Don’t be so quick to assume.”

“Then what the hell are you doing on my property?” Alison countered. She was frantic and slightly panicked, but she was also on the offense.

Jenna gestured towards the lake and she was surprisingly accurate. Standing by the shore and the edge of the nearby woods was an older woman. “I had surgery on my eyes again. I am waiting to see how it goes, but I have been very anxious as this is my third surgery. So, my nursing assistant suggested that we go for a walk. She didn’t hear you banging from the lake, but I did,” Jenna explained. Before Alison could say anything, the girl turned around and began tapping towards the woman by the lake. She didn’t even bother to wait for an explanation of how Alison got locked in the shed, but she called out, “You’re welcome!”

As the blind girl disappeared with the woman into the woods, Alison felt more paranoid than ever. She didn’t know if she could believe Jenna or not, especially with everything that had happened between the two of them. Did she send that nursing assistant to do her dirty work? Or was it really someone else?

“Ali?” The blonde girl turned from the spot Jenna and her aide had disappeared from and turned to Spencer. “You hadn’t returned from taking pictures. Wait—what’s wrong? Why are you breathing hard?”

Alison quickly rehashed what had occurred. She watched as Spencer went from concerned to angry. Spencer and Jenna had just as many ups and downs as Alison and Jenna, and Alison knew that Spencer was going to be quick to suspect that Jenna was somehow involved with locking Alison in the shed. Before the two girls went to go back to the Lost Woods Resort building, they went around the shed and looked for any obvious clues. To their immense shock, they found a pile of wood stacked against the back of the wooden shed. It smelled like it had been covered in lighter fluid. Both Alison and Spencer went rigid as they looked at the pile.

“That bitch was going to burn the shed down with me in it,” Alison said bitterly.

“You weren’t the only thing she was looking to burn,” Spencer noted, pointing.

At the very center of the pile, underneath most of the twigs and kindling, sat a wood-hilted shovel.

* * *

 

Dinner time came and passed, but Charlotte did not show. Alex was disappointed, but she plopped down on her mattress and laid down. She stared at the ceiling and tried to busy herself by counting in threes.

To her immense surprise, her mum was active and moving. Typically, she sat around and stared at walls all day. Not right now. She was sitting up and looking at Alex. She did so for so long that Alex finally sat up and spat out, “Something on my face, mum?”

Her mum sighed and looked down before looking back up. “Do you always have to be so aggressive, Alex?” She asked.

Alex took a double take. She had always had the touch of aggression—especially since Charlotte died—faked her death—but she never had anyone call her out on it. Nor did she think anything of it upon reflection.

“Don’t like it? Well, why don’t you spend your time with your favorite daughter,” Alex complained, “Oh, wait.”

There was a pause as they both let it sink in that they may never leave if Charlotte never comes back. Why hadn’t she visited them? _Did she get caught?_ Alex wondered.

“I love all of my children equally,” her mum said quietly.

“Bullshit!”

There was an awkward pause, and Alex couldn’t stand it. She began to fidget with her dirty shirt. Finally, her mum spoke again, and she changed the subject.

“What are you going to do if—when—we get out of here?”

Alex gave the question some thought. She answered, “I’m going to give that bitch who locked us up what she deserves. Her and that Mona.”

“By doing what?” Her mum seemed tired.

“I don’t know yet, exactly,” Alex said, “I’m sure Charlotte has some good ideas. We will do it together. Finally. Me and her.” A warm feeling spread through Alex’s chest at the thought.

“And Spencer?” Her mum bit her nail, “What about Spencer?”

“Your favorite daughter?” Alex snickered, “I don’t know, mum. I suppose that’s up to Charlotte, too.”

“You don’t want to steal her life anymore?”

Alex paused. She let her mum’s words sink in. She felt the truth in them. She _didn’t_ want to steal Spencer’s life anymore. She didn’t want to be Spencer Hastings. Now that she knew Charlotte was alive, her need for Spencer’s perfect life and family had nearly diminished. Sure, she was still envious of Spencer and everything she had growing up. Alex didn’t have any of that. But Charlotte… She didn’t need to be Spencer, because Charlotte loved Alex and Charlotte would take care of Alex.

“No,” Alex said, “No, Charlotte’s alive. And I’d rather be her sister than her doll.”

_That’s for sure._


End file.
